Welcome to the agentic era.
By Chance Townsend on May 19, 2026
Google’s I/O 2026 developer conference has wrapped, and the keynote was a bit of a snooze for non-developers. The headline Gemini news was a half-step update in Gemini 3.5 Flash, with the word “agentic” frequently used.
Google is “building a new agentic era,” as one executive stated. The big theme is letting Gemini handle tasks like emails, dinner reservations, and shopping. Google aims for it to be done autonomously, within limits.
Hardware announcements were quiet. The notable one was smart glasses called “audio glasses,” akin to Meta’s Ray-Bans but with a style emphasis, collaborating with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster.
The event was uneventful, but still, lots of announcements were made. Here’s the rundown.
Gemini 3.5 Flash is now the default model. It outranks most models in benchmarks and is available in the Gemini app and Google AI products. A new flagship, Gemini 3.5 Pro, will arrive in June.
The keynote featured Gemini Spark, a cloud-based AI agent that runs tasks in the background. It’s built with Google’s Antigravity coding IDE and connects to over 30 third-party apps. It will be available to AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. next week.
Google announced changes to its AI subscription tiers, lowering costs. AI Ultra is now $99.99/month, down from $250, offering bundled services. AI Plus, AI Pro, and AI Ultra are available at $7.99, $19.99, and starting at $99.99, respectively.
Gmail is introducing live voice mode, allowing verbal queries. Gmail Live will roll out this summer for AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, with a Workspace preview.
Google Search is undergoing its biggest overhaul in 25 years, introducing an intelligent AI Search Box. It now supports natural language queries and allows multimedia attachments.
Google introduced Search agents, AI assistants that run 24/7, alongside shopping and booking agents. Personal Intelligence in Search connects with personal apps, offering more context.
Google and Samsung’s audio glasses were presented without a name or price but with Gemini integration.
Google Shopping received updates, including a Universal Cart for aggregating items across multiple retailers.
Docs Live lets users convert raw input into structured documents with Gemini’s real-time assistance.
SynthID, a digital watermarking tool, is expanding to other companies, enhancing AI-content identification.
Gemini Omni, a multimodal world model, was unveiled, focusing on video generation and editing.
YouTube received updates, including AI-powered features for creators and a likeness detection tool.
Overall, Google is prioritizing AI integration across its platforms, emphasizing user assistance and enhanced functionality.