Dual-Track Breakthrough: Google BigQuery AI Transforms Data Analysis, Waymo Expands Autonomous Driving Footprint​

The Google tech ecosystem has announced two major milestones: Google Cloud officially upgraded its BigQuery data analysis platform, revolutionizing the entire data management process with Gemini-powered agents; its sister company Waymo secured new regulatory approval from California, expanding its fully autonomous driving services from the San Francisco Bay Area to broader regions in Southern California. These developments mark Google’s dual-track breakthrough in AI commercialization and intelligent transportation.

At the core of Google Cloud’s significant upgrade to BigQuery lies the deep integration of the Gemini large language model into the entire data processing chain, introducing two core agents—Data Engineering Agent and Data Science Agent—radically transforming the technical barriers and efficiency bottlenecks of traditional data analysis. The Data Engineering Agent can automatically complete data cleaning, transformation, and validation; cumbersome processes that previously required manual operation by data engineers can now be finished with one click via AI. Tests by a retail enterprise show that this feature has improved data pipeline construction efficiency by over 40%.​

More groundbreaking is the Data Science Agent, embedded in the Colab notebook environment, which can automatically perform feature engineering, model selection, and training. It ranked fourth in the DABStep multi-step reasoning benchmark test, outperforming GPT-4.0. For business users without technical backgrounds, the AI query engine supports semantic search—simply input natural language instructions such as "Analyze sales trends of products in emerging economies," and the system can automatically convert them into SQL code and process multi-modal data. By fine-tuning the model, Radisson Hotels has achieved a remarkable 50% improvement in marketing efficiency.​

This upgrade also enhances cross-scenario adaptability: integration with Apache Kafka real-time data pipelines significantly reduces stream processing latency; BigLake’s full support for open-source formats such as Iceberg and Delta Lake breaks down multi-cloud data integration barriers. The unified BigQuery Studio workspace enables seamless switching between SQL, Python coding, and no-code operations, allowing data engineers, analysts, and business users to collaborate efficiently and completely eliminate data silos.​

In the field of intelligent transportation, Waymo’s expansion pace is equally noteworthy. Following the new approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), its fully autonomous driving service has achieved leapfrog expansion: the San Francisco Bay Area now includes new coverage in the East Bay, North Bay (including Napa Valley), and Sacramento; Southern California has completed north-south connectivity from Santa Clarita to San Diego, forming a service network covering California’s core economic belt. More importantly, Waymo has become the first company in the United States authorized to provide paid passenger services on highways, with a 24/7 operation model that will significantly shorten inter-regional travel time.

This breakthrough is backed by a decade of technical accumulation. Waymo has not only completed massive tests on public roads and closed test sites but also simulated extreme scenarios such as merging into highway traffic and responding to lane-cutting through simulation systems. To ensure safety, the company has established a coordination mechanism with the California Highway Patrol and built supporting charging infrastructure to support the continuous operation of its electric autonomous fleet. Currently, Waymo deploys 1,000 operational vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area and 700 in Los Angeles, with the large fleet size providing solid support for regional expansion.​

The expansion of its business footprint is accelerating commercialization. Following Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Waymo plans to include Mineta San Jose International Airport in its service scope, creating a seamless connection between air travel and autonomous driving. According to plans, it will enter 11 more U.S. cities such as Miami and San Diego in 2026, and advance test deployments in London and Tokyo, demonstrating a clear global layout.​

From data analysis to intelligent transportation, Google’s two major breakthroughs, though seemingly independent, both point to the large-scale commercialization of AI technology. BigQuery AI lowers technical barriers through agents, enabling more enterprises to efficiently tap into data value and inject new momentum into the digital economy; Waymo promotes autonomous driving from testing to popularization through technical iteration and regulatory breakthroughs, reshaping urban transportation patterns.​

Industry analysts point out that these two developments will trigger a chain reaction: BigQuery AI’s multi-modal analysis and cross-cloud integration capabilities will intensify competition in the cloud services market, forcing AWS and Azure to accelerate the layout of AI-native products; Waymo’s highway operation experience will provide a reference for safety standards in the global autonomous driving industry and promote the improvement of regulatory frameworks. For Google, the synergistic effect of the two business lines is gradually emerging—traffic data processed by BigQuery can support Waymo in optimizing route planning, while the massive data accumulated from autonomous driving scenarios will in turn feed back into the continuous iteration of AI models.​

Amid the accelerated landing of technology, Google’s dual-track breakthrough not only demonstrates its AI technical reserves but also showcases its mature capabilities from R&D to commercial closure. In the future, with the continuous evolution of agent technology and the expanding footprint of autonomous driving, the tech giant is adopting a more pragmatic approach to transform cutting-edge technology into practical power that changes industries and lives.​