Google search is becoming something very different. Here’s What It Looks Like

Google Search doesn’t look like Google Search, either I/O By 2026, the company is fully dependent on that. The annual developer conference held this week in Mountain View, California, served as a clear statement at the moment of where Google is taking its flagship product: away from the blue-link model that has been successful for 25 years and towards something closer to conversation. The AI agent.

The announcements ranged from Gemini 3.5 Flash becoming the new automatic engine behind AI Mode worldwide to a complete rethinking of the search box itself, described by Google as the biggest improvement to that interface in more than two decades.

So far, AI has appeared in Google Search in a form called AI Overview and in a separate form of AI that sounds like it’s talking to the Gemini chatbot. The new interface will instead adjust to match the tone and results of your search query — including a “smart search box” that lets you ask longer, more complex questions. Here’s What’s Coming to Search from Google I/O.

AI updates are coming to Search

Robby Stein, Google’s vice president of Search product, framed this year’s I/O updates as a major step toward integrating Google Search with advanced AI, tracking progress from AI Overview to AI Mode and, now, a unified AI search experience. He said billions of people use Google’s AI Mode every month, and they ask it more questions. These tools allow people to ask almost anything and get rich, real-time answers from Google’s extensive knowledge base, he said.

“This is a very exciting time for Search,” Stein told reporters ahead of I/O. “People can ask anything on their mind and people’s curiosity is endless.” The company is doubling down on combining cutting-edge AI models with Google’s live data (web pages, business listings, products, photos, financials) to deliver deeper, more interactive search results.

The changes come as Google also announced the release of Gemini 3.5 Flash, a more powerful model focused on thinking, coding and complex tasks. Stein said that building search tools into the new model raises the quality of the overall response in Search.

Answering the most difficult questions

Alongside the development of the model, Google introduced a “smart search box” that expands long queries, accepts uploads (images, PDFs), that automatically completes erroneous information and can access context sources such as open Chrome tabs to support multi-step research.

AI overview now easily switches to AI mode for tracking. So instead of getting an AI-generated answer in Search, you can have a conversation with the AI ​​and provide your search results to get the answers you want.

Stein also introduced dynamic, interactive “widgets” and large “top widgets” generated by the system (powered by Gemini and developer tools). These can simulate physics, visualize ideas, create calculators or become small continuous applications for tasks such as movement, health tracking or travel planning — optionally using connected personal data (Gmail, Photos, Calendar) to personalize results in all 200 markets and 98 languages.

Stein described Search as entering the “agent” era where AI agents can help you with a range of tasks, such as monitoring topics, sending alerts (like when your favorite artist announces a tour) or booking services. Although an agent cannot book a reservation on your behalf, you can share your information — such as your preferred dates and times, and the number of people joining your party — to receive a list of updated available matches and prices, as well as links to officially complete your reservation. These skills will be available this summer.