Google has built a powerful AI arsenal to take on Apple and Amazon, and the tech it shows off Tuesday will reveal who dominates the world after smartphones (GOOG, GOOGL)

google ceo sundar pichai

AI is expected to play pivotal role at the Google I/O conference on Tuesday
Google needs to win over developers so expect it to play up the company's AI efforts
The company has yet to establish a hardware product category on its own, in the vein of Apple's iPad or Amazon's Kindle. But some observers think AI could be the key ingredient for a hit.

Google's battle for the hearts and minds of developers is increasingly about one thing: artificial intelligence.

On Tuesday, when the internet giant kicks off its annual I/O developer conference in Mountain View, Calif, the spotlight will be on its latest advances creating AI tools that can power everything from smartphones to refrigerators.

Google is at the center of a "Battle Royale" with Amazon, Facebook and Apple, says Dan Ives, chief strategist with GBH Insights.

"This is really a pivotal conference to put their stamp on AI. Google wants developers to bet on them and their platform but the developers need to see compelling product capabilities and roadmap before they believe in the Google gospel," Ives said.

It's no coincidence that Google CEO Sundar Pichai referred to Google as an "AI-first company" during last month's earnings conference call.

Not that long ago, tech companies were rebranding themselves as "mobile-first" to underscore their smartphone bona fides. Now it's AI or bust. And with so much at stake, Google is not likely to be subtle.

AI is expected to play a big part of any updates to the digital-valet Google Assistant, the machine-learning engine TensorFlow and possibly every other platform Google discusses, from mobile operating system Android to its vast cloud computing network.

More than a dozen events on the I/O calendar are devoted to artificial intelligence, with sessions titled "Machine Learning and Medicine" and "Building the future of AI for everyone." In January, Google announced a new AI Lab in Paris, where it will compete for talent with Facebook's existing AI center in the country.

The secret sauce for a hardware revolution?

Google Home speaker Last week, Google announced that Assistant, the virtual assistant which made its debut at IO two years ago and is now built-in to Google's Home smart speaker, is currently available on more than 5,000 smart home devices made by various companies.

Some observers are hoping that Google will provide more information on Assistant-powered smart displays. Google signaled these products were on the way at the CES tech show in Las Vegas this January, where several Lenovo-manufactured prototypes made an appearance, but there's been little sign of them since.

AI could prove to be the special sauce that gives Google a legitimate home-grown hardware hit.

Google's fledgling in-house hardware efforts have gradually earned respect, with well-received products like its Pixel smartphone and the Chromecast TV dongle.

But between Google, Apple and Amazon, Google remains the only company of the trio that has yet to create a category-defining gadget. Apple is the maker of multiple iconic devices, such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Amazon can boast about the Kindle and Alexa.

If Google can figure out a way to make the Home speaker a tad smarter — opening the door for app developers to create truly life-changing services that run on the device — Google could get a leg up over the rival Amazon Echo/Alexa product. Google's line of Nest smart home products could also provide a foundation for Google to spread its AI technology.

Google has all the pieces to the puzzle, but it still needs to convince the world it knows how to put it together.

“It’s been underwhelming to this point,” GBH's Ives said of Google's hardware efforts. “I think it’s hard to argue with the success that Google has had over the last decade but it’s been a kind of tip-toe strategy because they don’t want to lose sight of their core product, which is search...They’re still getting their sea legs in both the Pixel and smart-home fronts.”

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