@james
James Pau
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10d
+4
10d
Google: From search engine to action engine
The search engine is becoming an AI platform: agents, mini-apps, automatic research and bookings – and even fewer reasons to visit other websites.
At its I/O developer conference, Google announced a comprehensive overhaul of its search engine. The centerpiece is a completely redesigned search box, which Google describes as the biggest upgrade in 25 years: It expands dynamically, suggests AI-powered rewording, and accepts not only text but also images, videos, and Chrome tabs as input. Gemini 3.5 Flash replaces its predecessor as the default model in AI Mode.
Also new are so-called Search Agents: Background information agents will monitor the web, news, social media, and real-time data on finance and sports around the clock and proactively notify users – for example, when a property listing matches their criteria. The feature will launch this summer, initially for paying Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.
Expanded agent-based booking capabilities complement the package. Starting this summer, the new search function will be able to process bookings and, in certain categories such as crafts or beauty, even make calls to businesses itself, initially only in the US. This will utilize a "Universal Cart" —a cross-merchant AI shopping cart for search, Gemini, YouTube, and Gmail.
Furthermore, Google is bringing its Antigravity technology to search: In combination with the coding capabilities of Gemini 3.5 Flash, Search will be able to generate customized interfaces on-the-fly – from interactive visualizations and tables to mini-apps for all kinds of tasks, such as wedding planning or moving organization. This feature will initially be available only to Pro and Ultra users in the US "in the coming months."
Google is expanding Personal Intelligence , its feature for connecting personal apps like Gmail and Google Photos, to nearly 200 countries and 98 languages, without requiring a subscription.
From signpost to platform
One year after the launch of AI Mode, Google reports one billion monthly users; the number of requests has doubled quarterly since the launch.
For alternative search engines like Kagi, Brave Search, or Mojeek, these changes are likely to further increase the pressure. Google is demonstrating that it can directly translate its data advantage—billions of search queries daily, plus Gmail, Calendar, and Google Photos—into personalized AI experiences that independent providers can hardly replicate structurally. Those without their own user base of this magnitude cannot offer personal intelligence with comparable depth.
Publishers and media companies face an increasingly acute dilemma. If search engines not only aggregate results in the future, but also continuously monitor users in the background via information agents, analyze content, and directly notify them, the incentive to click on a website will decrease. The model that sustains journalism and many other content providers—advertising revenue generated through page views—will be further eroded.
In e-commerce, the combination of agent-based booking and search agents could redefine platform dependency. Those who previously relied on Amazon or booking.com as intermediaries now have another powerful gatekeeper in Google. And Google not only compares prices but also handles the entire purchase process itself. For smaller retailers and service providers, this means their visibility will depend even more heavily on whether and how well their data is integrated into Google's ecosystem.
At its I/O developer conference, Google announced a comprehensive overhaul of its search engine. The centerpiece is a completely redesigned search box, which Google describes as the biggest upgrade in 25 years: It expands dynamically, suggests AI-powered rewording, and accepts not only text but also images, videos, and Chrome tabs as input. Gemini 3.5 Flash replaces its predecessor as the default model in AI Mode.
Also new are so-called Search Agents: Background information agents will monitor the web, news, social media, and real-time data on finance and sports around the clock and proactively notify users – for example, when a property listing matches their criteria. The feature will launch this summer, initially for paying Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.
Expanded agent-based booking capabilities complement the package. Starting this summer, the new search function will be able to process bookings and, in certain categories such as crafts or beauty, even make calls to businesses itself, initially only in the US. This will utilize a "Universal Cart" —a cross-merchant AI shopping cart for search, Gemini, YouTube, and Gmail.
Furthermore, Google is bringing its Antigravity technology to search: In combination with the coding capabilities of Gemini 3.5 Flash, Search will be able to generate customized interfaces on-the-fly – from interactive visualizations and tables to mini-apps for all kinds of tasks, such as wedding planning or moving organization. This feature will initially be available only to Pro and Ultra users in the US "in the coming months."
Google is expanding Personal Intelligence , its feature for connecting personal apps like Gmail and Google Photos, to nearly 200 countries and 98 languages, without requiring a subscription.
From signpost to platform
One year after the launch of AI Mode, Google reports one billion monthly users; the number of requests has doubled quarterly since the launch.
For alternative search engines like Kagi, Brave Search, or Mojeek, these changes are likely to further increase the pressure. Google is demonstrating that it can directly translate its data advantage—billions of search queries daily, plus Gmail, Calendar, and Google Photos—into personalized AI experiences that independent providers can hardly replicate structurally. Those without their own user base of this magnitude cannot offer personal intelligence with comparable depth.
Publishers and media companies face an increasingly acute dilemma. If search engines not only aggregate results in the future, but also continuously monitor users in the background via information agents, analyze content, and directly notify them, the incentive to click on a website will decrease. The model that sustains journalism and many other content providers—advertising revenue generated through page views—will be further eroded.
In e-commerce, the combination of agent-based booking and search agents could redefine platform dependency. Those who previously relied on Amazon or booking.com as intermediaries now have another powerful gatekeeper in Google. And Google not only compares prices but also handles the entire purchase process itself. For smaller retailers and service providers, this means their visibility will depend even more heavily on whether and how well their data is integrated into Google's ecosystem.
