Project Astra debuted at I/O 2024 as a next-generation AI assistant that can view the world around you, and provide advice and tips throughout the day. Since then, Astra has been incorporated into the camera and screen-sharing capabilities of the Gemini app and Google says it upgraded Astra's voice output to be more natural with native audio,

The I/O conference in Mountain View, California has adopted a tone of increased urgency since the rise of generative AI posed a fresh threat to Google's long-time stronghold organizing and retrieving information on the internet.