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AI Mode reshapes Search
Google announced a sweeping overhaul of Search at its I/O developer conference, centered on a “completely reimagined with AI” Search box and an AI Mode update that uses Gemini 3.5 Flash.
“Gemini 3.5 Flash is the default in AI Mode globally starting May 19”
MakeUseOf says Gemini 3.5 Flash is the default in AI Mode globally starting May 19, and that the Search box is “completely reimagined with AI” as it expands and incorporates AI-powered suggestions that go beyond autocomplete.
Euronews reports that CEO Sundar Pichai described Google’s next era as “agentic” and said the Intelligent Search box is “the biggest upgrade to our Search box in over 25 years.”
PCMag adds that Google’s AI Mode has topped 1 billion monthly users, and that “information agents” will work in the background 24-7 to “find exactly what you need at exactly the right moment.”
Agents, ads, and access
Google’s changes also include “information agents” that monitor topics in the background, with Qazinform saying the agents will scan websites, news, social media and live data sources to provide updates tailored to user requests.
MakeUseOf describes how the Search box adds context via a “+” button and drag-and-drop, including the ability to drag an entire Chrome tab onto the bar and then ask a question about that tab.
Marketing Dive reports that Google is rolling out Ask Advisor later this year as a unified entry point for in-product agents across Google Ads, Google Analytics, Google Marketing Platform and Google Merchant Center, and quotes Dan Taylor saying, “On the back end, our agents talk to one another and carry each other’s content, creating a continuous thread of intelligence.”
Techgenyz says Google is testing new Search ad formats built with Gemini models, including Conversational Discovery ads that respond to what users actually asked, and it notes that “Sponsored” labels are used for those formats.
Who benefits, who worries
The overhaul is framed as a shift toward answers inside Search, with Campaign US saying Google’s update “transforms the familiar white search box into a dynamically expanding, AI-powered conversational interface.”
“few people click through to check the original source material”
PCMag reports that digital publishers are less enthusiastic because AI systems like Gemini pull information from websites and “few people click through to check the original source material,” raising concerns about traffic and revenue.
Le Figaro reports that Apple concluded a pluriannuel partnership with Google to have Google provide Gemini to improve Siri, saying “After un examen minutieux, Apple a conclu que la technologie IA de Google offrait la meilleure base aux modèles d’Apple.”
Euronews adds that Google said Gemini 3.5 Flash is optimized for developer and auditing work, and that it can operate “at less than half the cost of other frontier models,” while also introducing Gemini Omni to “create anything from any input.”
