Google has announced latest AI features across Search, shopping, payments, and content verification, covering consumer products and Google Cloud.
The updates, announced at Google I/O 2026, cover Search, Gemini, YouTube, Gmail, Chrome, Pixel, Google Wallet, and Google Cloud. They include changes to product discovery, checkout, task management, and media verification.
Google updates AI Mode in Search
Google is updating AI Mode in Search with Gemini 3.5 Flash because the default model globally. The company said AI Mode has passed one billion monthly users one yr after launch. Google also said AI Mode queries have greater than doubled every quarter since launch.
Search can be getting a redesigned search box that expands as users enter more detailed questions. It will support text, images, files, videos, and Chrome tabs as inputs.
Google said the search box will offer AI-powered suggestions beyond autocomplete. The feature is rolling out in countries and languages where AI Mode is out there.
Users may also have the option to ask follow-up questions from AI Overviews and move into AI Mode. Google said context will carry into the conversation, while links and supporting articles remain a part of the Search experience.
Google adds Search agents and booking features
Google is adding information agents to Search for users who want to watch specific topics or requirements. The agents can scan web sources and Google’s real-time data. Those data sources include finance, shopping, and sports information.
The company said users can set requirements for an agent to trace, comparable to listings or product updates. Information agents will launch first for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers this summer.
Google can be expanding agentic booking in Search to local experiences and services. Users will have the option to enter specific requirements, and Search will return pricing and availability. The results will include links to finish bookings through providers.
In chosen categories, users will have the option to ask Google to call businesses on their behalf. These categories include home repair, beauty, and pet care. These capabilities will roll out within the US this summer.
Search may also support generative user interfaces. Google said Search will have the option to create custom layouts with elements comparable to visuals, tables, graphs, and simulations. The feature may also support dashboards and trackers. The broader generative UI tools might be available to all Search users this summer.
Custom mini apps built with Antigravity will arrive first for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers within the US.
Google can be expanding Personal Intelligence in AI Mode to users in nearly 200 countries and territories across 98 languages. The feature allows users to attach Gmail and Google Photos. Google Calendar support can be planned.
Universal Cart links shopping across Google services
Google also introduced Universal Cart, a shopping feature that works across Google services. Users will have the option so as to add products to the cart while using Search, Gemini, YouTube, or Gmail.
The cart uses Gemini models to watch products after they’re added. It can show price drops, price history, and stock alerts. It may discover deals across merchants.
Universal Cart is built on Google Wallet and can account for payment method advantages, loyalty information, and merchant offers during checkout. Google said the cart may flag product compatibility issues, comparable to incompatible PC components from different retailers.
Checkout might be supported through the Universal Commerce Protocol, or UCP, which Google described as a standard language for agent-based commerce. Shoppers will have the option to ascertain out with Google Pay across participating brands or move items to a merchant’s website to finish the acquisition.
Google said brands will remain the merchant of record. Universal Cart will roll out across Search and the Gemini app within the US this summer, with YouTube and Gmail support to follow.
The company can be expanding UCP-powered checkout to Canada and Australia in the approaching months. The UK will follow later.
UCP may also come to YouTube within the US. Google said it is going to later extend to categories comparable to hotel booking and local food delivery.
Google details Agent Payments Protocol
Google also announced plans to bring its Agent Payments Protocol, or AP2, into its products. AP2 is designed to support payments made by AI agents under user-defined limits.
Users can set criteria comparable to the brand, product, and spending limit before an agent completes a purchase order. Google said AP2 creates a verifiable link between the user, merchant, and payment processor.
The protocol also creates digital mandates that record the user’s instructions to the agent. Google said this provides a shared record for purchases and returns.
AP2 will start appearing in Google products in the approaching months, starting with Gemini Spark.
Content verification expands across Google products
Google can be expanding content transparency tools across Search, Gemini, Chrome, and Pixel, while adding an AI content detection API on Google Cloud. The tools discover whether content was created or edited using AI.
The company said its SynthID watermarking technology has been used to watermark greater than 100 billion images and videos, in addition to 60,000 years of audio. SynthID embeds signals into AI-generated content that may later be checked by supported tools.
Google can be using C2PA Content Credentials across several generative media tools. Content Credentials provide details about how media was created or modified, including whether AI tools were involved.
Pixel 10 was the primary smartphone to offer Content Credentials for images in its native camera app, in keeping with Google. The company said it is going to expand the feature to video on Pixel 8, Pixel 9, and Pixel 10 phones in the approaching weeks.
Google recently added SynthID verification for images, video, and audio within the Gemini app. The company said the feature has been used 50 million times globally.
SynthID verification is now being added to Search. It will come to Chrome in the approaching weeks. Users will have the option to ascertain images for SynthID markers through Lens, AI Mode, and Circle to Search. The same function may also be available through Gemini in Chrome.
Google can be adding verification for C2PA Content Credentials within the Gemini app, with Search and Chrome to follow in the approaching months. The feature will show whether content is an unaltered original from a camera or whether it has been modified.
Google Cloud adds AI content detection tools
Google is launching an AI Content Detection API on Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. The API is designed to assist businesses discover AI-generated media made by Google models and other popular models.
Google said the tool can support backend operations comparable to feed sorting and insurance fraud checks. It may support user-facing uses comparable to fact-checking and synthetic media labelling. It is launching first with trusted partners.
Google said OpenAI, Kakao, and ElevenLabs are bringing SynthID technology to more AI-generated content. The company has also open-sourced its SynthID text watermarking technology. It has individually partnered with NVIDIA to watermark AI-generated video from NVIDIA’s Cosmos world foundation models.
Meta may also start labelling camera-captured media with Content Credentials on Instagram, in keeping with Google. Photos and videos taken natively on Pixel phones might be recognised and labelled when shared on Instagram.
(Photo by Shutter Speed)
See also: OpenAI makes ChatGPT ads easier for ecommerce brands
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