How to use Google’s new AI agents to go beyond your standard searches
Quick Answer
Google's new AI agents, unveiled at I/O 2026, allow users to create and manage personalized information agents that continuously monitor topics of interest, providing synthesized insights instead of traditional search results.
Quick Take
Available first to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, these agents enhance user experience by tracking real-time updates across various domains like finance, travel, and news.
Key Points
- Users can create AI agents to monitor topics continuously, unlike traditional search tools.
- Agents synthesize information from multiple sources, offering actionable insights and comparisons.
- Available this summer, initially for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the U.S.
- The redesigned search interface supports longer, conversational queries and nuanced searches.
- AI agents can track stock prices, flight costs, and breaking news in real-time.
📖 Reader Mode
~3 min readAt the Google I/O 2026 keynote, the tech giant revealed new agentic capabilities in Search, where users can create, customize, and manage multiple AI agents to stay updated on topics of interest. The announcement is part of Google’s larger push toward agentic AI systems that can take initiative and assist with ongoing tasks instead of answering one question at a time.
Unlike traditional search tools that respond only when prompted, Google’s information agents are designed to operate continuously in the background, 24/7, helping users stay informed about their interests without needing to repeatedly search for the same information every day.
Instead of delivering a list of links, the agents can synthesize information from multiple sources, explain why something matters, compare perspectives, and provide actionable insights. In many ways, the agents represent the next evolution of Google Alerts, the notification service Google launched in 2003. However, these agents are designed to go beyond simple notifications.
For instance, someone following the stock market could create an information agent focused on specific companies, share price, or economic trends. The agent could monitor market activity throughout the day, track breaking news, summarize earnings reports, alert users when major changes happen, and provide summaries and links to learn more.
It could also help with everyday tasks, such as tracking flight prices for upcoming trips, monitoring sports teams and live events, following breaking news, keeping tabs on housing or job market trends, and tracking weather or traffic.
To use the feature, users can open AI Mode in Search and enter a prompt.
For example: “Keep me updated on nearby movie tickets for ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu.’” When something relevant appears, the Google app sends a push notification. You’ll also see your active tracked topics in your AI Mode history, where you can jump back in to manage, refine, or turn off an alert.
Information agents will be available this summer. The company is first rolling them out to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the U.S., then to additional markets later on.
In addition to these information agents, Google also introduced a major redesign of Search, including what it describes as a reimagined “intelligent search box,” the company’s biggest change to Search in more than 25 years. The new interface is designed to support longer, more conversational queries. There’s also a new AI-powered query suggestion system that goes beyond traditional autocomplete, helping users craft nuanced and context-aware searches.
Catch up on the rest of Google IO 2026’s big news
Google Search as you know it is over
Google updates Gemini app to take on ChatGPT and Claude
Google introduces Gemini Spark, a 24/7 agent assistant with Gmail integration
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Lauren covers media, streaming, apps and platforms at TechCrunch.
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— Originally published at techcrunch.com
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