Google Isn't Falling Behind in the AI Race, Pichai Tells Skeptics, Pointing to 82% Cloud Growth

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, defended Google's position in the AI race on the company's quarterly earnings call on July 22, 2026. Responding to analysts who asked about the delay of the new Gemini model, he pointed to 82% growth in the cloud business.

What the analysts asked

On the July 22, 2026 call, analysts asked Pichai directly why the next version of Gemini had slipped and whether Google had lost the development frontier to the teams at OpenAI and Anthropic. It is an unfamiliar role for Pichai: on earnings calls he usually talks about Google's leadership, not about defending against claims that it is behind.

For the first time in a long while, Alphabet had to publicly address not its superiority but the market's doubts that it still holds the frontier of the AI race. Key facts from the call:

• Date: July 22, 2026, Alphabet's quarterly earnings call
• Google Cloud grew 82%
• The analysts' question: the delay of the next Gemini model
• Named frontier competitors: OpenAI and Anthropic

How Pichai responded

Pichai rejected the claim that Google is lagging and insisted that Google still has frontier models. According to him, the company has consistently shipped frontier models despite pressure from competitors.

"We clearly had frontier models…" —

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, on the company's earnings call.

Pichai steered the conversation away from promises of future releases and toward the business that is already running. Instead of naming a date for the new Gemini, he pointed analysts to the financial results as proof that Google's AI strategy is paying off here and now, not at some uncertain point in the future.

What the cloud business showed

Google Cloud grew 82%, and Pichai made that figure his main argument against the narrative that Google is falling behind. According to Alphabet's quarterly report, the company presents the cloud business as direct evidence that the market wants its AI infrastructure.

The logic is simple: customers pay for cloud capacity to train and run AI models, so demand for Google's technology is real even if the new Gemini release has slipped. The 82% growth turns an abstract debate about leadership into measurable revenue, a language investors understand better than promises of future models.

Is Google losing the AI race?

Publicly, Google denies it is losing: on July 22, 2026, Pichai flatly rejected the claim. But the fact that analysts are asking whether Google has ceded the frontier to OpenAI and Anthropic shows that the market has doubts, and the company needs the 82% cloud growth as a counterargument.

The delay of the flagship Gemini hurts perception in particular: a change of flagship model shows who holds the frontier in the AI race. When a release slips, competitors get a window to pull ahead on capabilities and market attention, and Alphabet has to prove its leadership with financial results rather than a model demo.

What this means

Alphabet is moving the debate over AI leadership from model demos to financial metrics. While competitors compare benchmarks, Google points to a cloud business that grew 82% as evidence that its AI infrastructure is already making money.

Frequently asked questions

How much did Google's cloud business grow?

Google Cloud grew 82%. Pichai cited the figure on Alphabet's quarterly call on July 22, 2026, and made it the central argument in defense of the company's AI strategy.

Why do analysts doubt Google's leadership in AI?

Analysts asked Pichai why the next Gemini release had slipped and whether Google had ceded the frontier to OpenAI and Anthropic. Pichai rejected that claim, citing frontier models and cloud growth.