Industry Innovators 2024: Google

This feature is sponsored by BeEvents, creative evolutionaries who challenge the status quo to redefine the experience of live events. Its Smart Experience Design solution delivers highly impactful experiences that both stakeholders and guests love.

The Basics: In addition to activating at major events like CES, Google also hosts its own big-time conferences such as its annual developer conference, Google I/O, which took place in May and was packed with announcements and artificial intelligence demos, as well as Google Cloud Next. But its consumer-facing experiences are what really highlight the power of the tech giant and its tools.

The "Google Pixel Combine" at this year's NBA All-Star Weekend featured skills training sessions and an open court. A boutique-style locker room gallery space was stocked with clothing brands, which fans could learn about via Google Lens.Photo: Courtesy of Google PixelMost Innovative Experiences: At this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend, Google Pixel hosted an experience designed to showcase its products with interactive stations, including Poster Practice, where fans were able to test out the Magic Eraser feature while creating their own hoops poster. The space also featured skills training sessions, an open court, and additional daytime and evening programming. 

Fans also had a chance to be drafted by Team Pixel, complete with a retro photo shoot using Pixel 8’s camera. For fans who wanted to take a “draft class” group photo, Google brand ambassadors were on hand to demo the Best Take feature. 

At Google’s Android booth at CES, visitors were able to scan a QR code to access an augmented reality experience with The Bot as a guide.Photo: Courtesy of Pink SparrowAnd at CES, the company’s Android booth allowed visitors to scan a QR code to access an augmented reality experience with The Bot (the Android mascot) as a guide. Attendees could also test out Magic Editor, an experimental editing experience in Google Photos on Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro that uses generative AI to make complex photo edits easier. 

The Latest: At this year’s Upfronts, YouTube announced that Google and Scripps Sports had reached an agreement to stream locally televised WNBA games on YouTube TV, in addition to nationally televised games. In 2021, Google became a WNBA Changemaker, serving as Presenting Partner of the WNBA Playoffs.

At the NBA All-Star Weekend activation, fans had a chance to be drafted by Team Pixel, complete with a retro photo shoot using Pixel 8’s camera.Photo: Courtesy of Google PixelLooking Ahead: Google recently added artificial intelligence to its search engine; AI Overviews now offer summaries at the top of queries—whether you want them or not— with plenty of false, misleading, and dangerous answers being reported. How AI will impact the experiential industry is still TBD, but expect Google to infiltrate the space.

Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O, took place in front of a small live audience from the Shoreline Amphitheatre, just down the road from its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters.Photo: Courtesy of Google