Tech

Google isn't releasing its next big AI model yet, drawing groans at its I/O conference

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai at Google I/O 2026.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks onstage at Google I/O on May 19, 2026. Google
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Gemini 3.5 Pro isn't coming out yet, disappointing the crowd at Google's packed flagship developer conference I/O on Tuesday.

"I know you can't wait to get your hands on it," CEO Sundar Pichai said onstage. "Give us until next month to get it to you."

Many had expected 3.5 Pro to come out at I/O, since it's the most powerful model in the works from the tech giant.

Pichai didn't explain why the chatbot will launch later than expected, although he did say that it's already "showing great improvements" compared to previous versions.

Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The industry is closely watching the release of 3.5 Pro, especially after Google's last big AI model, Gemini 3, outperformed expectations. Google's stock has been on a tear lately as its AI models and chips perform strongly.

Google made other announcements at I/O on Tuesday. For example, it launched Spark, an AI agent that can run without keeping your laptop open. Google also released Gemini 3.5 Flash, an AI model optimized for AI agents.

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Charles Rollet
Charles Rollet is Business Insider's tech correspondent in San Francisco, where he focuses on breaking major news about the AI industry. In 2025, he led an investigation which revealed that Scale AI had inadvertently exposed confidential data about its workers and clients. In 2026, he was the first to break the news that Meta had halted a controversial keystroke tracking program.Prior to joining BI, Charles worked at TechCrunch covering startups and VC in San Francisco. Before that, he was based in Southeast Asia for a decade, where his work won a Gerald Loeb award and was nominated for a Society of Publishers in Asia award. His reporting on the surveillance industry led to US human rights sanctions on five Chinese security camera manufacturers.Charles is especially interested in how frontier AI models are built and trained. He has a master's degree in business reporting from NYU and a bachelor's degree in history from Northwestern.You can contact Charles securely on Signal at charlesrollet.12 or +1-628-282-2811. Charles keeps sources anonymous. Please use a non-work device to reach out.