MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA: Google has unveiled a sweeping overhaul of its search engine, introducing artificial intelligence features designed to turn its iconic search bar into an assistant capable of carrying out tasks on behalf of users.
The announcement came during Google’s annual I/O developer conference, where the company showcased what it described as the biggest transformation of Search in more than two decades as it seeks to fend off growing competition from AI rivals, including OpenAI.
Among the new capabilities are AI “information agents” that can monitor topics, track updates, make bookings and interact with services such as Gmail and Google Calendar.
Google also demonstrated search tools capable of carrying out tasks such as arranging appointments and generating personalised dashboards.
The revamped search experience is powered by Google’s Gemini AI models and aims to make interactions more conversational, allowing users to submit longer and more complex queries through text, voice, images and documents.
Google executives said the company was moving towards what it called an “agentic” AI era, where artificial intelligence systems take more active roles rather than simply responding to prompts.
The company also introduced new subscription plans for advanced AI tools and previewed additional products, including AI-powered smart glasses developed in partnership with Samsung, Warby Parker and Gentle Monster.
Google’s push comes as traditional search engines face mounting pressure from AI chatbots that provide direct answers instead of lists of web links. The company has increasingly integrated AI-generated summaries, known as AI Overviews, into search results over the past two years.
Media organisations and publishers have voiced concerns that AI-driven search could reduce traffic to news websites by keeping users within Google’s ecosystem rather than directing them to external pages. A Reuters Institute report this year said publishers expected search traffic to decline sharply as AI-generated answers become more prominent online.
