Sissie Hsaio, the executive at Google responsible for the launch of the tech giant’s AI chatbot, is set to resign from her position as head of the Gemini app, according to a report from Semafor. Internal communications indicate that Josh Woodward, currently the vice president of Google Labs, will succeed her in this role.
In the memo shared with staff, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, emphasized that this transition aims to enhance the focus on the future development of the Gemini app, as reported by Semafor. While Google spokesperson Alex Joseph confirmed the announcement, he refrained from providing additional comments.
Hsaio has a long tenure at Google, having joined the company nearly two decades ago in 2006. She initially worked as a product manager for Search and Docs before being appointed to lead the Gemini apps in 2021. In this capacity, she played a pivotal role in the launch of Bard, Google’s response to ChatGPT. According to her memo, Hsaio plans to take a brief hiatus before returning to Google in a new role, sources revealed to Semafor.
Woodward, while maintaining his leadership of Google Labs, will also guide the next phase of Gemini. He has previously contributed to the development of NotebookLM, an AI-driven note-taking application that features an Audio Overview tool to transform research into a podcast format with two AI-generated hosts. Google has integrated NotebookLM into its One AI Premium subscription service, allowing users to produce AI podcasts utilizing Deep Research from Gemini.
