Google’s Josh Woodward, the VP who leads the Gemini app, did something most tech executives avoid—he asked the internet to tell him exactly where his product falls short. On July 8, he posted a blunt question to Gemini users on X: what were they surprised the app still couldn’t do well, and what should Google have fixed long ago?The replies poured in. More than 1,400 came within the first 12 hours, with another 300-plus arriving overnight. Woodward says he read all of them, then came back a day later with a ranked list of the top 10 complaints and, crucially, where Google stands on each. It’s a rare bit of public accountability from a company that usually prefers to control its own messaging. This wasn’t even the first time Woodward has fished for feedback like this—but it comes after May’s big Neural Expressive redesign, so the timing suggests Google is listening more closely than usual.
The one fix Gemini users want most
The clear number-one gripe was that Google Workspace integrations need to work more reliably. That stings a little, given how hard Google pitches Gemini as an assistant that moves across Gmail, Docs, Slides, Keep, and Tasks. Woodward agreed flatly, noting a set of improvements recently landed in the Gemini Spark agent but that reliability still needs to be far better across the whole app.Second came more reliable tool calling, which Woodward said Google “strongly” agrees with, promising noticeable gains soon—improvements that likely ride on future model upgrades. Third was better project and folder organization for chats. Google sees Notebooks as a start but admits it isn’t enough, and Woodward says the company will rethink the whole experience and report back.
The requests Google won’t touch
Not everything got a yes. Users asked for MCPs and Custom Skills, message editing, sharper voice dictation, and fixes to mobile scrolling bugs—all confirmed as in progress. On the MCP front, Google has already rolled out early support in Gemini Spark, with third-party connections like Canva, Dropbox, Instacart, OpenTable, and Zillow. Deep Research drew requests to export reports to NotebookLM and swap between models mid-chat, ideas Woodward admitted he hadn’t even known were pain points.Two items sparked eyebrows. People wanted watermarks removed from Nano Banana images, which Woodward said Google would weigh against AI rules that differ by country. And the one flat refusal: celebrity likeness guardrails. Google plans to keep those exactly as they are—so deepfake hopefuls will need to look elsewhere.
