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A year ago, it sometimes felt like AI had spread everywhere in some way, but that was just an anticipation of how AI would crash into people’s lives, for good or for evil
It would take a series of books to cover every transformative update, flashy launch, and embarrassing misstep made by the biggest AI brands: OpenAI‘s ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Apple Intelligence, not to mention any AI developer.
However, there are some highlights that are worth remembering before 2025 clears the landscape again.
The endless updates of ChatGPT
It’s hard to talk about AI in 2024 without putting ChatGPT at the center. OpenAI seemed determined to stay in the spotlight, releasing one game-changing update after another.
In May, the introduction of GPT-4o, followed by the leaner GPT-4o, started the multimodal evolution of ChatGPT in handling text, images, audio and video. The December release of the o1 model brought a new level of reasoning, with sharper and more insightful answers. Proving to be an invaluable tool for everything from coding challenges to creative brainstorming.
ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode has brought new voice interactions to ChatGPT with a range of realistic voices – including Santa. If you’re not talking about the app, OpenAI has also set up a toll-free helpline 1-800-CHATGPT to call and interact with ChatGPT.
Filmmakers have spent most of the year eagerly awaiting the arrival of SoraOpenAI’s text-to-video model. While it has only recently become available to non-professional filmmakers, Sora’s ability to make animated videos is now accessible to creative minds or marketers on a deadline.
Creative collaboration was also the pitch for ChatGPT’s Canvas Mode, which enables real-time collaboration with AI, editing and refining projects side-by-side. To keep things organized, OpenAI has also implemented Projects, a feature that groups conversations and files into neat folders. And the expanded ChatGPT search feature helps keep all information up-to-date and accurate.
On top of everything, OpenAI ended the year with its festive event “12 Days of OpenAI”.releasing daily updates like WhatsApp integration, a new $200 per month ChatGPT Pro tier, and a sneak peek at the next O3 model for the chatbot. That probably helped distract from the disruption of hours in December caused by a Microsoft data center failure. The extent of the outrage might not have been great PR, but it undeniably highlighted how far ChatGPT has spread since 2024.
Google Gemini’s Leap
Google Gemini won’t even exist when 2024 is over. It wasn’t until February that Bard became Geminiand that rebrand was part of Google’s year-long effort to surpass OpenAI by integrating AI into everything it does. A shiny new Gemini app for Android and a Gemini Advanced subscription level immediately started the competition with ChatGPT, and updates will soon follow.
In May, Google launched Gemini 1.5, an updated version with more processing power and an expanded context window, making it smarter and better at understanding complex questions. But the real magic started over the summer when Gemini intelligence made its way into Google Home devices and took the place of Google Assistant in more places.
That culminated in September with Gemini Livea feature that allows you to have real-time voice conversations with AI. ChatGPT’s competition continued with custom chatbots called Gems, and a month later an iPhone app arrived, complete with integrations into other Google apps on iOS.
The grand finale came in December with the release of Gemini 2.0, a massive update with better, faster responses, photo analysis and more. Not to mention, many features exclusive to Google Pixel phones are more connected to the rest of the Google ecosystem.
Apple Intelligence finally matures
Rumors about Apple’s plans for artificial intelligence had been swirling for years, but 2024 saw Apple Intelligence finally debut. The initiative felt both inevitable and unique to Apple in its revelation to WWDC in June.
The design was definitely Apple, but there was a notable amount of integration with existing AI models. In particular, Apple will allow its renewed voice assistant Siri to rely on ChatGPT for answers and various questions. We are also still waiting for Siri’s promised ability to see, understand and perform tasks in applications.
Even with different branding, Apple’s AI tools seem primarily aimed at matching or surpassing the features available from OpenAI and Google. For example, the Apple Intelligence allows the picture creator Image Playgroundand also Genmoji, which allows you to design your own emojis.
The most distinct aspect is probably how Apple Intelligence it primarily uses Apple hardware to run AI processes locally or on its ultra-secure Cloud Compute servers. In this way, Apple Intelligence can perform faster and promise more privacy.
While OpenAI, Google and Apple dominated the headlines, AI had a much wider impact thanks to other big brands. Meta, for example, introduced the virtual assistant Meta AI, embedding it in Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, updating and expanding its capabilities (including some celebrity voices) throughout the year. Meta has also set next year to be the year of AI smart glasses by embedding Meta AI in Meta Quest Headphones like the Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses. Oh, and who could forget the inauguration of tthe prototype of augmented reality glasses Orion?
However, not all pieces of AI hardware fared so well this year. The hype around the likes of the Rabbit R1, a small AI-centric device, and wearables like the AI human pin and Plaud NotePin was very high when the year began, but they have all faded rapidly since then and can only succeed as very niche products.
If 2024 has shown one thing, it’s that artificial intelligence has officially passed its shiny new technological phase and stormed into our lives as a full-blown revolution. ChatGPT, Gemini, Apple Intelligence, and their competitors have all shown how AI tools can dazzle and still be really useful when used in the right way.
This does not mean that 2025 will not be without its mistakes and errors, but it certainly suggests that it will become a standard part of many digital activities at some level, whether trying to have a game night with friends, entertainment and educated children, or organize our diets and kitchen plans. This year has shown what AI can do; Next year, the question will be, which of these capabilities do we really want AI to do for us?
