On Thursday, Google unveiled a new partnership with Team USA and NBCUniversal (NBCU), aimed at enhancing the coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. Google will be the ‘Official Search AI Partner’ of Team USA, marking the first time a tech company has sponsored the team.

The partnership is designed to showcase athletes’ stories and bolster NBCU’s coverage of the event with the help of Google’s technology. The tech giant will work with NBCU to integrate AI-powered features into the coverage of the Paris Games, using Google Search, Gemini and Google Maps Platform to enhance viewers’ experience.

Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, emphasizing its potential to bring athlete stories to life through advanced technology. “This collaboration is more than just a sponsorship; it’s a powerful alliance that brings together the best of technology and sports,” she said in a statement. “By working with Google and NBCUniversal, we are ensuring that our athletes’ stories are told in the most dynamic and engaging ways possible.”

The collaboration will involve a handful of AI integrations across channels and kinds of coverage. With ‘Explain the Games,’ Google AI Overviews – AI-generated blurbs that appear atop search results – will help viewers better understand the ins and outs of the Olympics, like clarifying the rules of certain events. The tool will be used by NBCU’s production team and commentators during coverage and will extend to social platforms.

Fans will also be invited to join comedian Leslie Jones – who’s been assigned ‘chief superfan commentator’ for NBCU – explore Gemini, Google’s AI chatbot, to dig into all things Olympics and sports. Content from the series will be distributed on NBCU networks and will stream on Peacock.

Google and NBCU will also use Google Lens, Circle to Search, Immersive View in Google Maps and Gemini to help viewers discover the city of Paris, home to the 2024 Games. With ‘One Day in Paris,’ Google and NBCU viewers can follow five Olympians and Paralympians as they wander through the City of Light and check out landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Roland Garros Stadium. Social videos will promote the content.

Finally, NBCU’s audience will be able to get immersive views of Olympic venues like Versailles and the Aquatics Centre, thanks to Google Maps Platform’s Photorealistic 3D Tiles, which enable viewers to get up-close-and-personal with 3D experiences.

The collaboration, said Marvin Chow, Google’s vice-president of marketing, “provides an incredible stage to demonstrate how Google’s everyday products, like Search and Maps, along with innovations like Gemini, can help fans explore, learn, and connect with the Games.”