Relay, an AI-powered workflow automation platform launched in 2021 with the ambitious goal of rivaling Zapier, is ceasing operations. Concurrently, a portion of its team, including its top executive, is transitioning to Google’s Chrome division.
Jacob Bank, Relay’s founder and CEO, issued a company announcement on Monday, revealing that paying customers would lose access to the application on September 14. Free users had already experienced service termination as of August 15. The initial notification regarding the app's closure was made public in July.
Bank, who previously contributed over six years to Google, confirmed his return to the tech giant as VP of Product for Google Chrome. In this capacity, he will assume leadership of both the product and developer relations teams for Chrome, as detailed on his LinkedIn profile.
“I’ve spent my whole career doing one thing: building tools that help people get more done with AI, without sacrificing their personal creativity or insights,” Bank stated in a post on X. He added, “And joining the Chrome team is an ideal opportunity to bring those experiences to many, many more people.”
Bank further hinted at future innovations, remarking, “We have some really ambitious plans to help you work with AI in Chrome to get things done, and I’ll have more to share soon.”
Bank’s prior tenure at Google began in 2015, following the acquisition of his earlier startup, a scheduling application named Timeful, by the search behemoth. During his initial period at Google, he held various significant roles, including product lead for Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Chat, before departing to establish Relay.
Much like Timeful, Relay was designed to enhance user productivity through workflow automation, enabling businesses to streamline repetitive processes such as document drafting, copyediting, and various project management tasks. TechCrunch has sought additional information from both Google and Relay regarding these developments.
The precise methods Bank and his team intend to employ for further AI integration into Chrome remain a subject of anticipation, though Bank himself described Chrome as “a perfect place to collaborate with agents.”
This strategic move aligns with Google’s consistent trajectory of embedding AI deeply within its user experience. The incorporation of Gemini into search has fundamentally reshaped Google’s front-end interface and, by extension, the broader internet landscape. Gemini has also been integrated into Chrome, where it functions as an optional in-browser assistant.
Overall, user reception to these AI integrations appears positive, underscored by Google’s recent report that Gemini has surpassed a milestone of 1 billion users.
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