Google has agreed to a proposed $68 million settlement in a class action alleging that Google Assistant improperly recorded and distributed users’ private conversations following false activations. Filed on January 23 and reported by Reuters on January 26, the settlement requires judicial approval before becoming final. The lawsuit argued that misheard phrases—known as “false accepts”—triggered the Assistant to capture sensitive speech and share it with third parties for ad targeting. Google has denied any wrongdoing, indicating the settlement is intended to avoid protracted litigation rather than concede liability.

Investors are focused on Alphabet’s fourth-quarter results, expected in early February, for signs that its AI investments continue to drive revenue and profitability. In Q3, the company reported 16% year-over-year revenue growth, led by a 34% increase in Google Cloud sales and a doubling of daily active users for its AI Mode in Search. Cloud backlog surged 82% year-over-year to $155 billion, underscoring robust enterprise demand. Capital expenditures jumped over 80% compared with the prior year quarter, reflecting heavy investment in data centers and custom AI hardware to support future growth.

In a landmark deal, Alphabet will supply its Gemini large-language models to power Siri and other Apple Intelligence features under a multiyear agreement. This collaboration leverages Gemini’s top-ranked performance in key benchmarks and grants Google expanded distribution across Apple’s 2.4 billion active devices. The pact underscores Apple’s confidence in Google’s AI capabilities and promises to deepen Alphabet’s mobile footprint, potentially driving hundreds of millions of additional monthly interactions with Gemini-powered experiences.

Alphabet is exploring ways to generate incremental revenue by displaying targeted ads within the free tier of its Gemini app, which attracted 650 million monthly active users in Q3. While CEO Demis Hassabis recently stated there are no immediate plans to commence ad placements, internal discussions signal that ad-supported access could leverage Alphabet’s industry-leading ad platform without disrupting user engagement. Should this strategy proceed, even a modest click-through rate could translate into significant new advertising income given Gemini’s vast user base.