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Google celebrated the 25th anniversary of its launch this week – and it’s hard to envisage what life was like before.

Few companies have become so integral to society that they become a verb, but the search giant remains the shorthand for looking something up online despite AI threatening the habit.

Google has of course seen off plenty of would-be rivals before (any Ask Jeeves aficionados out there?) – it would be foolish to write off one of the world’s best-known brands after all it’s been through.

Here are 25 moments that helped get Google to where it is today.

1. Launch day (1998)

In 1996, Stanford University computer whizzes Larry Page and Sergey Brin dreamt up a search tool that could better organise the internet’s websites.

Two years later their project was noticed by investor Andy Bechtolsheim, who wrote them a $100,000 cheque.

They used the cash to start an office in the California garage of their friend, and future YouTube boss, Susan Wojcicki.

After buying the domain name Google.com, they got to work.

Google in 1998. Pic: Web Design Museum
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Google in 1998. Pic: Web Design Museum

2. Here comes the money train (2000)

Google’s growth was rapid and it had moved offices several times by 2000, which is when its transformation into a global behemoth would really begin.

Having set up its own campus in Mountain View, California (the area of Silicon Valley where it’s still based), the company launched AdWords.

This allowed advertisers to purchase search terms they wanted to be in the results for – and started a money train that would turn Google into one of the world’s richest firms.

Google co-founders Larry Page (L) and Sergey Brin listen to questions from the [media] during a news conference at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California May 10, 2006. Google faces mounting competition in the Internet search [advertising market, but expects such battles to drive up prices and increase revenues across the entire industry.]
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Google co-founders Larry Page (L) and Sergey Brin

3. Beyond words (2001)

Google had a big year in the boardroom and on its website in 2001, with experienced tech boss Eric Schmidt named chief executive and its co-founders becoming company presidents.

For users, this year saw images added to the website’s search results. It was driven by demand for snaps of a dress Jennifer Lopez had worn at the Grammy Awards in 2000.

Presenter and nominee Jennifer Lopez shows off her latest fashion at the 42nd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles February 23, 2000. Lopez was nominated for Best Dance Recording for her song "Waiting For Tonight". REUTERS/Mike Blake
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Jennifer Lopez at the Grammy Awards in 2000

4. From email to Gmail (2004)

Generally you should take anything you see announced online on 1 April with a pinch of salt, but Google’s Gmail announcement was no joke.

The free web email client, which now has more than 1.8 billion users, was joined in 2001 by Google Autocomplete, which helped people fine-tune their search queries and would go on to inspire a generation of memes.

Google Inc. has begun offering a simpler way for Google users to conduct instant message chats from inside a Web browser window, alongside their e-mail, the Mountain View, California-based company said late on February 6, 2006. Gmail Chat, as the new service is known, includes a Quick Contacts list on the left side of Google Gmail e-mail program, which automatically displays the people the user communicates with most frequently, not just via Chat but also via Gmail e-mail or its more advanced G
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An early version of Gmail

5. Getting around (2005)

Not content with changing how we navigate the web, Google started to change how we navigate the real world with Google Maps and Google Earth.

The former is now de-facto satnav for commuters and delivery drivers alike, while the latter gave anyone with a computer the chance to explore far-flung parts of the world in 3D.

Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs discusses the Google Maps application for the iPhone during the Macworld Convention and Expo in San Francisco, California January 15, 2008. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES)
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Apple chief Steve Jobs shows off the first iPhone’s Google Maps app

6. Android joins the family (2005)

Another 2005 milestone that deserves its own slot on the list is Google’s $50m purchase of Android, which some might say is one of the most important moments in the history of mobile phones.

It’s the backbone of just about every non-Apple handset, and batted away competitors like Microsoft and Nokia to become the iPhone maker’s only real rival.

Executives hold the new G1 phone running Google's Android software in New York September 23, 2008. T-Mobile USA, a Deutsche Telekom AG unit, will sell the first phone powered by Google Inc's Android operating system under the brand name T-Mobile G1, said its partner Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday. REUTERS/Jacob Silberberg (UNITED STATES)
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The G1 phone, the first Google-branded handset, running Android

7. And so does YouTube (2006)

Just a year later, Google made another significant purchase: YouTube for $1.65bn.

The internet’s most ubiquitous video platform has been the backbone of the creator economy for years now, and created an entirely new breed of celebrity. And you can watch Sky News there, too – all day, every day.

YouTube logo
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YouTube first launched in 2005

8. The great firewall of China (2006)

One place you can’t watch YouTube is China, as it has fallen victim to the country’s infamously tough restrictions on what its citizens can see online.

Not that Google didn’t try to make it work, launching a highly censored version of its search engine there in 2006, before shutting down four years later after criticism from US politicians.

A worker at Google in Shanghai walks near their reception desk in their Shanghai office January 13, 2010. Google Inc may pull out of China because of censorship and cyber attacks on rights activists, further straining Sino-U.S. relations as Washington prepared to tackle global Internet censorship. Google, the world's top search engine, said on Tuesday it may close down its Chinese-language google.cn website and shut its offices after it uncovered sophisticated China-based attacks on human right
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Google’s time in China was short-lived

9. I’m a real word! (2006)

The final entry in a trifecta of 2006 milestones is Google’s addition to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2006.

Listed as a verb, the dictionary entry said: “To use the Google search engine to find information on the internet. To search for information about (a person or thing) using the Google search engine.”

The new word "googeln" is pictured in the latest edition of Germany's leading dictionary Duden in Mannheim. The new verb "googeln" is pictured in the latest edition of Germany's leading dictionary Duden in Mannheim August 25, 2004. Two of Germany's biggest news publishers earlier this month said they would abandon new spelling rules that millions of schoolchildren have learned since 1998, rekindling a long-running battle over the German language. The verb to google is to search on the World Wid
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Google has also made its way into non-English dictionaries

10. The streets won’t forget (2007)

Google Maps was bolstered by the launch of Street View in 2007, which saw the company send out cars with huge cameras strapped to the top of them to capture pictures of the world’s roads.

You have probably seen them out and about over the years – and may even have ended up on Street View itself…

A Google Street View car is driven in Sundsvall, northern Sweden September 13, 2011. Street View, which enables users of Google Maps to view photos of streets as well, has been around since 2007 -- sending its cars out to take photos of city streets -- and covers about 30 countries. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (SWEDEN - Tags: TRANSPORT SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY)
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A Google Street View car in Sweden in 2011

11. Chrome is where the heart is (2008)

Much as Gmail has become many people’s preferred email client, so too has Chrome become the browser of choice since launching back in 2008.

Its dominance of the market is quite something given it’s not the default option on Windows PCs or Apple Macs, although anyone with the latter’s laptops will tell you no other software drains the battery quite like it.

Google software engineer Ben Goodger introduces the company's new web browser, dubbed Google Chrome, at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California September 2, 2008. Google Inc's new browser software is designed to work "invisibly" and will run any application that runs on Apple Inc's Safari Web browser, company officials said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Kimberly White (UNITED STATES)
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Google’s development team introduced Chrome in 2008

12. Google’s first smartphone (2010)

Five years after buying Android, Google took its own stab at making a phone that ran it with the Nexus.

It was pitched as the purest Android experience you could get, providing rapid updates whenever the latest version (always named after a dessert) was released.

Peter Chou, chief executive of HTC, holds the Google Nexus One smartphone his company will produce, running the Android platform, during the unveiling of the first mobile phone the internet company will sell directly to consumers, during a news conference at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California January 5, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS SCI TECH)
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The Google Nexus One was manufactured by HTC, which Google later bought

13. Chrome’s not alone (2011)

The Chrome name was unshackled from the web browser market in 2011 as Google began work on a computer operating system to rival Windows and macOS.

Chrome OS has since become the backbone of Google’s Chromebook laptops, which are especially popular in universities and schools.

14. The launch of the Play Store (2012)

Google’s answer to Apple’s App Store opened in 2012, replacing Android Market. The timing turned out well, as that year also saw the launch of a certain game called Candy Crush.

The Play Store raked in a whopping $42bn in revenue last year.

15. Remember Google Glass? (2012)

Google might be one of the world’s biggest companies, but its history is littered with failed experiments.

One of the most notable is Google Glass, its high-tech spectacles powered by augmented reality that were first introduced back in 2012 and killed off three years later. Clearly no one told Apple what people thought of them.

Momentum for Google Glass appears to have fizzled
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Momentum for Google Glass fizzled out pretty quickly

16. In at the deep end (2014)

It wasn’t as immediately eye-catching as its purchase of YouTube or Android, but Google snapping up British AI research company DeepMind now looks rather prescient.

Its team is key to Google’s overarching AI strategy as it looks to compete with rivals like OpenAI and Microsoft.

17. A new look (2015)

Google got a major makeover in 2015, with a new logo across its search engine and other products.

It was also the year of a major restructuring, as the company folded itself into a new company called Alphabet alongside other divisions, like the smart home platform Nest.

A businessman has won the right for a past-crime to be removed from Google search results
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Google’s refreshed logo has stuck since 2015

18. Pixel perfect (2016)

Google started making its own phones with the Pixel, replacing the old Nexus branding and joining its recently launched smart speakers – Google Home – on shop shelves.

The annoying adverts about removing chips from your photos didn’t arrive until six years later but they haven’t put people off the phones, with the next version due in just a few weeks.

New Google Pixel 7 Pro smartphones are displayed at a launch event for new Google hardware devices in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York, U.S., October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Roselle Chen
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Google’s Pixel 7 range will be replaced in October

19. Waymo (2016)

Google’s driverless car project was spun off into a company called Waymo in 2016, with the aim of taking the technology mainstream.

Seven years on and its fleet of taxis are working the streets of San Francisco 24/7, despite occasional navigational problems that have blocked traffic and even delayed emergency services.

A Waymo rider-only robotaxi is seen during a test ride in San Francisco, California,
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A Waymo robotaxi during a test ride in San Francisco

20. EU inflicts record fine (2017)

Politicians and regulators have taken a tougher stance on big tech in recent years, and Google has been made an example of on more than a few occasions.

The EU hit it with a record £2.1bn fine in 2017 for favouring its own shopping service in its search results.

21. Big earnings – but another big fine (2018)

Alphabet reported $100bn in annual sales for the first time in Google’s history in 2018, largely thanks to ads.

It certainly made another record fine from the EU easier to stomach, as it inflicted a £3.8bn penalty for forcing Android phone makers to pre-install Google apps.

22. End of an era (2019)

Co-founders Page and Brin relinquished control of Alphabet in December 2019, handing the reins over to Google’s chief executive Sundar Pichai.

He still leads the company and is one of the highest-paid tech bosses in the world, while this year saw him attend meetings with world leaders including Rishi Sunak to discuss the potential and threats of AI.

Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management for Google, holds a netbook that runs the company's Chrome OS during the company's event in San Francisco December 7, 2010. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach (UNITED STATES - Tags: SCI TECH BUSINESS)
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Sundar Pichai, now Google’s top boss, holds a notebook during the unveiling of Chrome OS

23. ‘Sentient’ AI (2021)

Speaking of AI, Google’s work in the field made headlines in 2021 when a senior engineer was sacked for claiming the company’s chatbot was “sentient”.

The company said Blake Lemoine’s claims about LaMDA (its GPT-style language model for engaging in human-like conversations) were “wholly unfounded”.

24. The death of Stadia (2022)

Google’s attempt to gatecrash gaming with a Netflix-style streaming service called Stadia was announced in 2019.

However, it flopped in the face of competition from established platforms PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo.

Its demise was confirmed in 2022 and the service shut down in January, joining a long line of Google products like Glass and would-be Facebook rival Google+ on the scrap heap.

Stadia will work with a single controller across any screen
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Stadia was killed off after barely three years

25. The Bard will see you now (2023)

Google’s internal work on LaMDA came to fruition earlier this year with the release of Bard.

The chatbot’s launch was fast-tracked following the success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and is becoming integral to Google’s business model, integrated into everything from Gmail to Docs.

Whatever happens next for Google, it’s clear Bard – and AI – will be key.

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Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral

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Trump criticises Putin after potentially 'historic' meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope's funeral

Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.

The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.

The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.

The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope's funeral
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The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral

He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”

The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.

Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.

Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.

Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.

The world leaders share a moment before the service
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The world leaders shared a moment before the service

Trump and Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
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Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica

But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.

The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.

The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.

There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.

U.S President Donald Trump attends the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
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Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters

Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.

He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.

Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”

The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.

They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.

Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.

Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.

“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.

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What we learn from remarkable photos of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

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What we learn from remarkable photos of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.

In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.

They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.

Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.

In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.

The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope's funeral
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The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral

Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.

We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.

But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.

Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.

Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.

The world leaders share a moment before the service
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The world leaders shared a moment before the service

Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.

They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.

The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.

Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.

If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.

This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.

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Pope Francis funeral: 200,000 people bidding farewell to pontiff who had ‘open heart towards everyone’

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Pope Francis funeral: 200,000 people bidding farewell to pontiff who had 'open heart towards everyone'

Tens of thousands of people have packed St Peter’s Square as the funeral of Pope Francis begins.

Royals, world leaders and cardinals joined scores of worshippers at the Vatican, as mourning of the 266th pontiff transcended wealth and social class.

In keeping with Francis’s life as a breaker of tradition, many of the more elaborate and expensive rituals customary for the burial of popes have been foregone in favour of simpler options.

Around 200,000 people are attending the funeral, with around 50,000 packing out St Peter’s Square.

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Pope’s coffin carried out as funeral begins

Follow live: Pope Francis funeral service latest updates

His body had been lying in state since his death aged 88 on Easter Monday, spending the last few days in St Peter’s Basilica to allow mourners to pay their respects.

The Vatican – where the funeral service is taking place – and Rome – where Francis will be laid to rest – are under heavy security, with a no-fly zone in place overhead.

The coffin of Pope Francis is carried during the funeral Mass of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
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The coffin of Pope Francis is borne aloft by pallbearers. Pic: Reuters

Members of the clergy sit, ahead of the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
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Members of the clergy gathered to say farewell to their pontiff. Pic: Reuters

President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, along with Sir Keir Starmer, President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, headline a huge selection of global leaders and dignitaries.

Read more:
Pope Francis’s funeral – what is happening and when
Full order of service for Pope’s funeral

Francis’s coffin has been taken out into St Peter’s Square where 220 cardinals and 750 bishops and priests are sitting in rows, waiting to say goodbye to the Bishop of Rome.

A series of readings and prayers are being read before the 50,000 faithful gathered before the basilica, and the coffin will be sprinkled with holy water and incense.

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Singing rings out at the Vatican

Members of the clergy attend the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, in Saint Peter's Square, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
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Members of the clergy stand in St Peter’s Square. Pic: Reuters

It began with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re reading the Penitential Act – a way for the faithful to confess their sinfulness.

This was followed by the Liturgy of the Word, a part in Catholic mass where faithful gather to hear and reflect on the word of God.

Cardinal Re then delivered the homily, speaking about Pope Francis’ life and service to God.

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Applause breaks out as Zelenskyy arrives

Cardinal
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Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re read the homily

The cardinal praised the pontiff as someone who “touched the minds and hearts of people” who was “attentive to the signs of the times”.

He added: “Despite his frailty and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life.”

He said Francis “was a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone”.

A view of St Peter's Square during the funeral of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Tens of thousands pack St Peter’s Square for the funeral. Pic: AP

Clergy during the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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Clergy seated during the funeral. Pic: AP

At the end of the mass, the choir will sing in Latin: “May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs come and welcome you and take you into the holy city, the new and eternal Jerusalem.”

After the service, Pope Francis’s body will be taken in procession through the streets of Rome to his final resting place at his favourite church, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

People react as they wait outside the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore), ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome, Italy, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
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Worshippers outside the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Pic: Reuters

He will be ushered into the basilica – dedicated to the Virgin Mary – by prisoners and migrants, a last reflection of his priorities as pope.

In a break with tradition, the Pope outlined in his will his request to be buried “in the ground, without particular ornamentation” but simply with the inscription “Franciscus”.

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