Gemini is being mocked as a "North American bean bun"—has Google really fallen behind?

Behind the viral "North American Bean Bun" meme lies a shift in people's expectations of Google. Recently, Gemini has gained the nickname "North American Bean Bun" online, probably because Gemini now frequently "talks nonsense while apologizing politely." I'm at a loss for words when it comes to this internet meme. Gemini isn't actually bad; it still ranks among the top in many lists. But interestingly, very few people are willing to seriously defend Google anymore. If this were 2022, few would have imagined that today's AI industry's discussion center wouldn't be Google. Google possesses almost everything needed for the AI ​​era. The Transformer was born here; it controls the world's leading computing infrastructure. It boasts a product matrix covering billions of users, including Search, Android, Chrome, and YouTube, and possesses one of the most stable cash flows in the tech industry. However, today, OpenAI has taken the lead in establishing itself as the product entry point for generative AI; Claude has become the default choice for an increasing number of developers. The capital market is more concerned with when Alphabet's hundreds of billions of dollars annual AI investment will finally end and when the returns will materialize. When Google is no longer the benchmark for AI? Current discussions about Google almost entirely revolve around Gemini. Is Gemini really inferior to Claude? Why are more and more people finding Claude easier to use? Is the term "North American bean bun" a fair assessment? These questions are certainly important, but the way people discuss AI has changed. In the past, people were used to using Google as a benchmark. This was true for search, Android, and Chrome. Google was the industry benchmark, and the entire industry revolved around it, until the emergence of ChatGPT. OpenAI didn't invent the Transformer, but it defined generative AI products; Anthropic didn't have the largest R&D team, but it shaped a set of AI working methods that developers accepted. Saying that Google lacks innovation might not be fair. Google's current NotebookLM, Gemini Live, Veo, Imagen, and AI Overviews are all products that would be considered products of the year by other companies. However, these products rarely deliver the same "So this is how AI can be done" moment that ChatGPT brought to the industry. This is why market discussions about Google rarely focus on whether Gemini is number one. The real issue is that Google possesses Transformer, DeepMind, TPU, and the world's largest AI distribution network, yet it hasn't defined this wave of AI like ChatGPT did. Behind the viral "North American bean bun" meme lies a shift in public expectations of Google. Why Google Finds It Harder to Turn Around Than Others

Why Google Finds It Harder to Turn Around Than Others

Many people say Claude is easy to use because its model is smarter. But in the past year, Anthropic's most successful achievement has been pushing Claude from a chatbot into a work tool. Claude Code, Computer Use, Browser, and Terminal seem like separate features, but they all address the same question: Can AI do more than just answer questions; it can actually perform tasks for humans?

Today, developers are no longer just concerned with the model's capabilities, but with whether the model can truly integrate into the workflow. Cursor and Windsurf use Claude by default not only because it's smarter, but also because it's easier to integrate into the development process.

Today, developers are no longer concerned with just the model's capabilities, but with whether the model can truly integrate into the workflow.