How Nano Banana Saved Google

Google Gemini’s breakout in 2025 gets pinned on “Nano Banana,” Google’s fast image generation and editing push that coincided with Gemini MAUs jumping from 350M to 650M by October, plus momentum from NotebookLM upgrades and aggressive social distribution. Neil and Eric debate why free, bundled AI (Search AI Overviews, Chromebooks, Android) can outscale paid ChatGPT for students and everyday users, then zoom out into AI’s new marketing playbook for demand gen, ABM, and always-on agents, plus a reality check on VC data and “SEO is dead” takes. Key takeaways: -Nano Banana made Gemini feel viral and usable. -Free distribution beats “better” features for scale. -AI is rewriting B2B demand gen workflows. Chapters: (00:00) What saved Google Gemini (00:12) Nano Banana drives MAU growth (01:10) AI Overviews massive reach (01:43) Students choose free Gemini (05:39) Chatbot traffic share shifts (08:34) AI demand gen playbook (10:38) Skepticism on VC datasets (16:42) Luck favors consistent grind (20:50) Holiday send-off for 2026