Two decades ago, Google co-founder Larry Page had an idea that would forever change the way we navigate the world."Larry drove down some of these streets with a video camera and handed it to someone and said, 'Hey, what can you do with this?'" said Maria Biggs, technical program manager at Google Street View, a prominent feature in Google Maps.In a car equipped with the latest Street View camera, Biggs took CNBC on a ride near Google's Silicon Valley headquarters. First introduced in 2022, it's the first camera model that can be added onto any car, rather than being built into the vehicle."We're going to Hawaii with these next generation camera systems because we don't have to ship the whole car," Biggs said. "We can just put the camera system in a box and ship it there and then rent the car when we're there."Biggs said the new technology will allow Google to update data on some places for the first time in 10 years."We're going to be able to easily move these cameras around and have more freshness in our maps," she said.With more than 2 billion monthly users, Google Maps is the world's top navigation app. As Maps approaches its 20th anniversary in February, Google is working hard to keep that lead, with the help of the new cameras, as well as generative artificial intelligence.The more nimble cameras are allowing Google to make updates to dozens of countries. It's also mapping at least three new ones — Bosnia and Herzegovina, Namibia, and Liechtenstein. Street View cameras are a significant part of how Google gathers data for Maps, but it also relies on satellite and aerial images, and information from more than 1,000 third-party sources, such as local governments and users

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More. Scaling adoption of generative tools has always been a challenge of balancing ambition with practicality, and in 2025, the stakes are higher than ever. Enterprises racing to adopt large language models (LLMs) are encountering a new reality: Scaling isn’t just about deploying bigger models or investing in cutting-edge tools — it’s about integrating AI in ways that transform operations, empower teams and optimize costs. Success hinges on more than technology; it requires a cultural and operational shift that aligns AI capabilities with business goals.The scaling imperative: Why 2025 is differentAs generative AI evolves from experimentation to enterprise-scale deployments, businesses are facing an inflection point. The excitement of early adoption has given way to the practical challenges of maintaining efficiency, managing costs and ensuring relevance in competitive markets

Optimization plays a central role in business growth, whether it’s through adopting new technologies, rethinking operational workflows or introducing innovative products and services. Amid all the technologies out there today, businesses looking to unlock greater optimization capabilities are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI). In retail and eCommerce alone, AI and generative AI applications are reshaping the way consumers shop, businesses operate and supply chains function. “The speed at which AI capabilities have advanced, from text models to multimodal and reasoning agents, has been remarkable,” Fiona Tan, CTO at Wayfair, said during a discussion for the PYMNTS series “When Chatbots Go Shopping: How GenAI Is Shaking Up the Retail Status Quo.”