For adult businesses that currently rely on Google traffic to power revenue, could 2025 by the year everything changed?

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has described 2025 as a pivotal year for the tech giant as it navigates mounting competition, regulatory challenges, and rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. Addressing employees during a year-end strategy meeting on Dec. 18, Pichai emphasized the urgency of staying focused on innovation and solving user problems.

“2025 will be critical,” Pichai said, urging employees to recognize the high stakes and the need for speed in adapting to technological shifts. He later added that “Scaling Gemini on the consumer side will be our biggest focus next year.”

Google’s Gemini is a suite of advanced artificial intelligence models designed to power a wide range of applications, from chatbots and natural language understanding to complex data analysis and creative content generation.

The meeting, attended by both in-person and virtual participants, had a festive atmosphere, with Pichai and other leaders wearing holiday sweaters. However, the discussions were forward-looking and underscored the pressures Google faces in an increasingly competitive and scrutinized environment.

The past year has brought significant challenges for Google, including heightened regulatory scrutiny. A federal judge ruled in August that the company unlawfully maintains a monopoly in the search market, while the Department of Justice has sought to force Google to divest its Chrome browser. Additionally, the DOJ and the U.K.’s competition authority have raised concerns over Google’s ad technology practices, signaling global regulatory pressure.

Internally, the company has contended with cultural tensions and debates over its strategic direction. Despite these hurdles, Google saw robust growth in areas like search advertising and cloud computing, though competition in its core markets has intensified.

Pichai acknowledged the external pressures but framed them as an opportunity for focus. “We are facing scrutiny worldwide,” he told employees, attributing the attention to Google’s influence and scale. He stressed the importance of staying undistracted and committed to leveraging AI to address real-world challenges.

“In history, you don’t always need to be first but you have to execute well and really be the best in class as a product,” Pichai said. “I think that’s what 2025 is all about.”