Google I/O 2026 revealed a major shift as Gemini transforms into an 'agentic' platform. From persistent personal agents to a revamped Search, here is how Google is changing AI.

If you pay attention to one thing in AI this week, it should be Google’s I/O presentation on Tuesday. The tech giant unveiled a bunch of AI tools, most significantly the addition of new AI features such as agents to Google Search.

The company says the model is faster and better suited to coding and agentic tasks, but analysts say its enterprise value depends on live workflow reliability.

Google’s search business survived the chatbot boom — and now its AI tools and cloud services are accelerating the company’s growth.

‘Ask YouTube’ is a new way to search that generates an AI Mode-like page of information.

Compare ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Perplexity, Grok, DeepSeek, and Meta AI by strengths, use cases, integrations, and limits.

Last year marked the beginning of Google’s explicit focus on AI search, and this year’s I/O solidified that shift. As Google’s search VP Liz Reid said during the keynote, Go

Alphabet Inc.’s Google said users will be able to ask questions of YouTube, its video site, and create Google Docs using their voices — part of a plan to improve its products with artificial intelligence.