Google Gemini 4 Argon closes the gap with OpenAI and Anthropic but doesn't take a clear lead

Google unveiled Gemini 4 Argon, its new frontier model that closes the gap with rivals from OpenAI and Anthropic, beating some of them on key benchmarks. While it may not clearly lead the pack, it is relatively cheap for a frontier model, at least at the introductory price. Argon is Google's first frontier model in more than seven months, following Gemini 3.1 Pro.

It puts the ad giant back among the top three AI labs, though Anthropic likely still holds the lead. After a difficult and drawn-out development period that saw the already-announced Gemini 3.5 frontier model skipped entirely, Google is back in the race. Argon is initially going to a group of "trusted cyber defenders" as part of the Fairwind program.

They and Google's internal teams will get the model without cyber guardrails. Google justifies the gradual rollout with a "phased approach" that AI capabilities at this level require. The company is also taking part in the US government's voluntary program that gives agencies access to new models before public release. Feedback from early testers will feed into the…