The keynote presentation at Google I/O 2026 was, without a doubt, the longest (and most intense) one I can remember in the twelve years I have spent following industry news as part of the Marketing4eCommerce team. Unless I miscounted, Google published as many as twenty-four posts on its blog during the afternoon of the 19th, highlighting more than thirty major updates: new features and tools that will change how we interact with the Internet in the coming months.
Many of them are covered in this article by my colleague Michel Rodrigo, which I recommend you read.
But there are others that deserve special attention because of the scale of their impact.
Like what is about to happen to Google Search.
Elizabeth Reid, Google Vice President, has described this shift as “a new era for AI-powered search,” aimed at transforming one of the elements that has accompanied us while browsing the Internet for more than 25 years: the Google search engine.
Clearly, I know that Google has been gradually adding major updates to its search engine over time, especially in the past two years, with the arrival of AI Overviews and AI Mode, to what is, let us remember, by far the most widely used search engine in the world. Now, it is simply trying to give a more definitive shape to that giant snowball of AI-based features.
Roll video 😉
To begin with, something logical: among the updates Google unveiled at the event was a new AI model, Gemini 3.5 Flash, which is already available to all Gemini users worldwide. So the company has taken the logical next step: integrating it natively into Search.
What will this integration make possible? A whole series of new AI-based features designed to finally turn the classic text search engine into one that is truly multimodal and (theoretically) intent-driven. Google executives are imagining an environment where we no longer search for isolated concepts, keywords, or learned structures like “blue striped cotton women’s T-shirt”, but for something more “natural” and closer to the way we actually think.
Do you want a T-shirt in the style of the one you wore ten years ago to a friend’s birthday party? Upload the photo from that day. Do you want something extremely specific that goes beyond the usual four- or five-word descriptions? Write a long, detailed prompt. Do you want outfit ideas to pair with it? Just ask. Need a visual diagram showing how a T-shirt is made? Gemini is there to generate the graphic you need: “You will be able to get a personalized generative user interface, including visual tools and simulations, precisely tailored to your needs,” Google explains.
These generative UI capabilities will be available to all Search users this summer, free of charge.
Of course, this requires some changes on Google’s side, beyond simply incorporating Gemini as an assistant. One of the most striking, visually speaking, is the “dynamic” expansion of the search box. As Elizabeth Reid explains, “Because your curiosity does not always fit into keywords, we are also introducing the biggest update to our search box in more than 25 years, now fully redesigned with AI. This intelligent search box puts our most powerful AI tools at your fingertips, making it easier to express your questions.”
But this “elasticity” does not apply only to the initial query, but to the entire search process. Through AI Overviews, Google is introducing a more natural way to continue the conversation. Once you get this automated response, you will be able to ask follow-up questions directly and receive new results in the style of AI Mode.
All of this, I am afraid, is going to make it increasingly easy to run into the automated answer of the moment whenever we search and, in fact, to get used to a new way of interacting with the search box that will permanently change the context we were used to.
And why do I say “I am afraid”?
Because although Google will continue offering links and references to external websites in its responses, those responses will increasingly take center stage, making the classic list of SERPs less visible… and less accessible.
With all that implies for traffic to websites like ours that produce content such as this. Let us remember the number of studies published in recent months on the decline in CTRs for search results following the arrival of AI Overviews.
But let us keep going, because there is more.
Another major protagonist throughout Google I/O is agentic AI and the role it will play in the coming years. In this article, we covered the latest updates to Gemini Spark and its “personal agent” capabilities, with which Google is seeking to democratize access to this type of technology for all users.
And Search was not going to be left out. Google has introduced its new “information agents,” capable of operating in the background, 24/7, and reasoning over information to find exactly what you need at precisely the right moment.
If you think about it, they are something like an evolution of the classic Google Alerts.
As Google explains, “with information agents, you can stay up to date on what matters most to you. Your agent will intelligently search across the web, such as blogs, news sites, and social media posts, along with our freshest data, including real-time information on finance, shopping, and sports, to detect changes related to your specific question.”
To continue with our earlier example, when searching for that T-shirt, you will be able to provide a detailed description, specifying, for instance, the price you are willing to pay for it (“price under 30 euros,” for example). You will also be able to find out instantly when your favorite influencers announce content related to summer T-shirts, so you do not miss it. In both cases, Google’s information agents will notify you when the conditions are met.
The plan is for these information agents to launch first for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers this summer.
Closely related to this agentic activity is another major new feature in Google Search: the ability to create personalized tracking documents designed to monitor recurring searches, such as planning a party or managing a move. “Search can go a step further by creating personalized dashboards or tracking tools that you can return to in order to make progress on your projects. You can think of them as mini apps for your specific tasks,” Google explains.
And all of this without leaving Search, of course. So, for example, you will be able to ask Google to create a personalized fitness activity tracker for you. Search will build it for you, using real-time updated sources such as reviews, interactive maps, and local data like the weather forecast for the coming days.
This feature will arrive “in the coming months,” starting first with Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the United States.
Images: Google and Gemini
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