Google Unveils Gemini Spark and Intelligent Eyewear at Google I/O 2026 Keynote

Google’s Google I/O 2026 keynote centered on Gemini, with the company also using the event to unveil a new “24/7 AI agent” called Gemini Spark and to show off “intelligent eyewear” devices coming out this fall.

“Google used its annual I/O developer conference on Tuesday to unveil Pics, a new AI-powered design and image-generation application built directly into Google Workspace”

Bitcoin World

At the same time, ZDNET said Google’s main message was that “Gemini is about to be in everything,” and that making “agentic AI more accessible is the focus for the foreseeable future.”

Bitcoin World

ZDNET also reported that the conference took place May 19 and 20 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California, with the opening keynote starting at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.

In ZDNET’s live coverage, Demis Hassabis returned to close the keynote with a plug for Google’s progress on AGI, announcing “a new suite of Google AI tools designed to advance scientific discovery.”

CNET’s live recap also described the event’s science angle, saying Google was “bringing together AI tools to help accelerate research,” including Gemini lab prototypes for tasks like staying up to date on newly published papers.

Google’s blog post on “A new era for AI Search” said it was upgrading Search with “Gemini 3.5 Flash” as the new default model in AI Mode and described a “biggest upgrade to our Search box in over 25 years.”

In that same announcement, Google said it was entering “the era of Search agents,” with information agents operating “in the background, 24/7,” and it added that “Information agents will launch first for Google AI Pro & Ultra subscribers this summer.”

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The Verge’s roundup said Gemini Spark runs in the background using virtual machines on Google Cloud 24/7 and can connect to Google Workspace apps including Docs, Gmail, Sheets, and Slides, as well as third-party apps like Canva and Instacart.

For hardware, The Verge reported that two new pairs of Android XR smart glasses are launching this fall—one from Warby Parker and one from Gentle Monster—and that they are audio-only (no display) and support features like live translation, navigation assistance with Gemini, and notification summaries.

CNET’s live blog tied the glasses demo to consumer use cases, quoting Google’s Shahram Izadi saying the audio glasses are “designed to give you all-day help with Gemini that is spoken into your ear privately rather than shown on a display.”

Google I/O also pushed generative creation deeper into Workspace with Pics, a new AI-powered design and image-generation application built directly into Google Workspace, which ZDNET said was part of a broader push for Gemini across products.

“Our live reporting from the Google I/O keynote kicks off this live blog, which will continue through the developers conference as we learn more announcements while providing commentary on how these new Gemini features and systems might actually prove helpful (or not)”

CNET

Bitcoin World described Pics as generating social media graphics, invitations, marketing materials, and mock-ups using simple text prompts, and it said Pics is powered by Google’s latest model, “Nano Banana 2,” which the company says is optimized for precise text rendering.

In the same account, Bitcoin World said Pics’ editing layer lets users modify specific elements by clicking on them and typing a new instruction or leaving a comment, and it described how users can change details like “the time on an invitation card manually without rewriting the entire prompt.”

The Verge’s coverage of the Gemini Omni family said Omni Flash is rolling out starting today in the Gemini app, Google Flow, and YouTube Shorts, and it said Omni Flash can generate video clips from prompts that include inputs like text, photos, video, and audio.

Meanwhile, Tom’s Guide reported that Google unveiled Gemini 3.5 Flash and a new $100 AI Ultra tier, and it described Gemini Spark as a “24/7 AI agent” that lives in the cloud and continues to work in the background.