What is search, anyway? At Google I/O this week, Google made that question even harder to answer, as Search absorbed more of Gemini's AI capabilities and moved further beyond the familiar list of blue links.

For decades, we directed Google or Bing to fetch us a list of pages, in which we could find the answers we seek. Now 'search' engines are acting more like butlers, anticipating what we want before we want it, based on what they know about us.

It's not too much of a stretch to anticipate that 'search' and 'AI' are blurring, and probably will simply merge at some point. As announced at I/O, Google Search tool is soaking up even more of Google's AI capabilities, with an expanded search box plus personal agents, while Gemini itself is taking on more of the tasks, such as delivering a daily brief, that I would normally associate with a personal aide or attaché.

Today, what we might have called 'notifications' in past eras are now the domain of agents. Google wants you to ask them to keep their eyes open for, well, the sky's the limit — low plane fares, news about Taylor Swift, updates from your apartment complex, and so on. And there are two key things Google is adding to its pantheon of products: search agents, and specifically a 'personal' agent called Spark.

It's hard to separate one from the other, just like it's a challenge to distinguish Gemini within Google's Workspace apps from the Gemini app itself. They're just blending together.

The Rise of Agents Continues

My colleague Ben Patterson will tell you more about the ins and outs of Spark, but this is the short version: it's Google's new '24/7, personal agent' that works on your behalf. Right now, it's apparently somewhat basic, where you can have it set recurring tasks or triggers, or teach it skills like checking your inbox for updates from the school your kids attend. Over time, however, Google has a roadmap of features planned for Spark, just like any of its other properties.

Of more use, I think, is what Google calls a 'daily brief.' If that sounds familiar, it might: Microsoft built in a daily summary of your upcoming events as part of Windows 10's Cortana, and — once Cortana was headed for the graveyard — tried to move this feature into the mobile Outlook app. I can't say which one would have come out on top, but I applaud the effort.

'It goes far beyond a simple summary,' according to a blog post by Josh Woodward, the vice president of Google Labs and the Gemini app. 'Daily Brief actively organizes and prioritizes based on your specific goals, even suggesting immediate next steps.'

Of course, there's no telling whether the daily brief will prove effective. Not surprisingly, it benefits from connections to Gmail, your calendar, and other connected Google apps. It also requires a subscription, though it's available to the AI Plus tier as well as the more rarified Pro and Ultra subscription models.

Search, Gemini: Are They on a Collision Course?

As you might imagine, I'm less fond of AI Mode, Google's controversial revamp of its search function. Like virtually everything else in Google's ecosystem, Google Search includes 'personal intelligence,' mining your life for additional context. Google now says that AI Mode, which grudgingly links back to the original source of its knowledge, has landed one billion users.

Google is expanding the search box, literally, at least on its mobile implementations. This will allow for longer, more involved queries where you can see the entirety of the prompt, add files, and so on. The upshot is that Google doesn't want you to search for 'best laptop;' it would rather you input something like 'the best laptop like the one that my cousin Mike had last summer at the house in Maine, but under $1,500,' with everything from text, images, video, to even Chrome tabs as potential inputs.

Google Search is encouraging you to have conversations with its search engine, rather than one-off queries.

At this point, the line between a 'search' and a 'prompt' blurs even further, especially when Search and AI Mode allow follow-up conversations. AI Mode, heavy on the 'AI.' The new implementation is live, today, where AI Mode is already implemented.

I can see the impact of AI Mode on our business, and it isn't good. But I can't be as down on Google's agentic search capabilities.

Generally speaking, the industry has come up with numerous ways to facilitate ongoing searches. Steam and Amazon offer you the choice to 'wishlist' a particular item, tracking its pricing and notifying you when it's on sale. So far, Microsoft still implements 'Collections' of stored tabs, where you can research and store an ongoing project, like a summer vacation. (Like Google, Microsoft is pushing you to adopt Copilot to take over manual tab storage and replace it with an AI summary.)

Agentic search used to be called 'notifications,' where you could tell Google to monitor a topic and it would track it for you. Now Google Search is adding 'search agents,' which will essentially monitor an existing question and provide answers.

'With information agents, you can stay updated on whatever matters most to you,' according to a blog post by Liz Reid, the head of search for Google. 'Your agent will intelligently look across everything on the web, including blogs, news sites, social posts, and the freshest data, such as real-time information on finance, shopping, and sports, to monitor for changes related to your specific question.'

Beginning this summer, you'll also be able to allow Google to reserve restaurants and other venues — and even pay. The latter has been a capability where AI has feared to tread, but Google is setting out to make it happen.

Google is also essentially using its own version of Claude Code, called Antigravity, to build small 'apps' right within search itself. Google's not really building an app that will allow you to do something. Instead, it's using Antigravity to create small visual explanations of how a specific task could be completed or how a concept actually plays out in the real world, such as a black hole's effect on time and space or how a Roman aqueduct may have been constructed.

I don't have any vacations planned for the near future, but I could absolutely see agentic search being used to answer questions like 'who is the current leader in the California governor's race polling?' or 'how much money has OpenAI raised in 2026?'

Like it or not, Google is one of the architects of the modern search experience, and how we look for and acquire information. Anecdotally, Google still has 90 percent of the world's search traffic, according to StatCounter. The issue, of course, is how the problem is defined — how many people are simply 'searching' via ChatGPT or Claude? Ongoing agent-based searches and conversational followups will keep users within Google's fold, where its management is desperate that they remain.

The evolution of search has been dramatic. From the early days of AltaVista and Yahoo directories to Google's PageRank revolution, each era changed how we access information. Now, with the integration of large language models, search is becoming less about finding documents and more about generating answers. This shift has profound implications for publishers, advertisers, and users alike. Google's new AI Mode presents summaries that may reduce click-through rates to external sites, raising concerns about traffic and revenue for content creators. Yet, the promise of a truly conversational assistant that understands context and follows up on complex queries is appealing.

Google's Spark agent represents a leap forward in personal productivity. Imagine an assistant that not only reminds you of your child's school event but also books a babysitter, checks traffic, and suggests a restaurant for dinner. While current capabilities are limited, the roadmap hints at a future where agents handle multi-step tasks autonomously. This could blur the line between search engine and operating system, as agents become the primary interface for daily digital interactions.

Security and privacy remain key concerns. For agents to be effective, they need access to emails, calendars, location, and browsing history. Google's history with data collection already raises eyebrows, and the new personalization features may lead to increased scrutiny from regulators. The European Union's Digital Markets Act and similar laws may force Google to offer opt-outs or alternative search experiences. As users become more aware of data practices, they may hesitate to grant such deep access.

Another aspect is the competition. Microsoft has integrated Copilot into Bing and Edge, offering similar chat-based search and agent-like features. Apple is rumored to be enhancing Siri with AI for more proactive assistance. Startups like Perplexity AI and You.com are also vying for a piece of the search market. The race is on to define the next generation of information retrieval.

For now, Google's moves at I/O signal a clear direction: search is no longer about sending people away to other websites; it's about keeping them within Google's ecosystem, providing answers directly, and using AI to anticipate needs. This transformation is both exciting and unsettling. It promises convenience and efficiency but risks creating a walled garden where Google controls the flow of information. As users, we must balance the benefits of a personal AI assistant with the need for a diverse, open web.

Source: PCWorld News