PeopleofSuperintelligence

Lab leader

Josh Woodward

Josh Woodward leads Google Labs, the Gemini app and AI Studio, where his teams turn AI research into products. He grew up in Edmond, Oklahoma, earned a BBA with honors in economics at the University of Oklahoma and an MPhil in comparative government at Oxford, then joined Google as an intern. His early Google work included Chromebook development and the Next Billion Users effort. At Google Labs, he helped bring NotebookLM Audio Overviews to Google I/O in 2024, took charge of the Gemini app in 2025 and coauthored a report on Gemini 2.5. TIME named him one of the 100 most influential people in AI in 2025; in July 2026, he announced NotebookLM's transition to Gemini Notebook and its deeper links with Gemini and Search.

Now at
Google

Timeline

  1. By 2009

    From Edmond to Oxford

    He grows up in Edmond, Oklahoma. He earns a BBA with honors in economics at the University of Oklahoma in 2006 and an MPhil in comparative government at Oxford in 2009.

  2. By 2024

    Chromebooks and the Next Billion Users

    After Oxford, he joins Google as an intern. By 2024, his early Google work includes Chromebook projects and the Next Billion Users effort.

  3. March 2024

    Leading Google Labs

    In March 2024, Woodward leads Google Labs, a rapid-launch group charged with turning research into new products.

  4. May 2024

    NotebookLM Audio Overviews

    In May 2024, NotebookLM Audio Overviews, a text-to-podcast feature, joins the Google I/O lineup. Woodward says its core team works nights and weekends to prepare it.

  5. April 2025

    Taking charge of Gemini

    In April 2025, Google names Woodward the leader of its consumer AI apps as Sissie Hsiao steps down; he remains head of Google Labs.

  6. July 2025

    A Gemini 2.5 report

    He coauthors the Gemini 2.5 report, which introduces Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash and describes reasoning, multimodal understanding, long-context processing and agentic workflows.

  7. 2025

    TIME100 AI recognition

    In 2025, TIME names him one of the 100 most influential people in AI.

  8. As of October 2026

    Leading Google Labs and Gemini

    As of October 2026, he leads Google Labs, the Gemini app and AI Studio. In July 2026, he announces NotebookLM’s transition to Gemini Notebook, a standalone research tool with deeper Google integration and links into the Gemini app and Search.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Josh Woodward yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Nine Extraordinary OU Alumni Honored with Regents’ Alumni Award ou.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. I/O 2026 Google speakers google-i-o-2026-press-site.prezly.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. India is in line for a major AI platform shift: Google Labs VP economictimes.indiatimes.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Inside Google’s Two-Year Frenzy to Catch Up With OpenAI wired.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Google Gemini is shaking up its AI leadership ranks semafor.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Gemini 2.5: Pushing the Frontier with Advanced Reasoning, Multimodality, Long Context, and Next Generation Agentic Capabilities arxiv.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook blog.google. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Josh Woodward blog.google. Checked 14 October 2026.