Google I/O 2026 just wrapped up, and unsurprisingly, almost every major announcement during this year’s keynote revolved around Gemini. From the new Gemini models to a Gemini-powered shopping cart that can track prices and deals for you, nearly everything Google announced had Gemini integrated into it in some form.
I haven’t really been too sold on Google’s Gemini push over the past few I/O events. A lot of the features felt interesting on stage, but never really impacted my day-to-day life in a meaningful way. But the I/O 2026 felt a little different. Google has now integrated Gemini much deeper into its core products, and some of the new features genuinely look like they could save users a lot of time.
Gemini is slowly becoming the AI assistant Google always wanted
Ever since Google announced Gemini, the company has been trying to position it as the replacement for the original Google Assistant. But after I/O 2026, it finally feels like that transition is actually happening. Google introduced something called Gemini Spark, which is essentially a personal AI agent that can run 24/7 in the background and take actions on your behalf.
And these actions aren’t limited to your device. Since Gemini Spark runs in the cloud, it can continue working even after you close your laptop or lock your phone. For example, you could ask it to monitor your credit card bills for suspicious charges or track updates from your kid’s school and summarize important information directly into Gmail.
It works somewhat similarly to projects like OpenClaw, although Google still doesn’t allow local browsing, messaging, or emailing directly through Spark just yet. The company says those features are coming later. Google also emphasized that Spark won’t take important actions like spending money or sending emails without explicit user approval.
Alongside this, Google also introduced a new feature called Daily Brief. It works similarly to the Daily Hub on the Pixel 10 series, pulling together updates from Gmail, Calendar, and other Google apps into a more digestible overview. It can automatically prioritize tasks based on your goals and even suggest immediate next steps.
Both Gemini Spark and Daily Brief are starting to roll out for Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S.
Gemini will now edit videos for you
Gemini can already generate images and edit photos, but now Google is taking things much further with video. Replacing the older Veo branding, the company introduced Gemini Omni, which brings conversational video editing directly into Gemini.
For example, you can simply type things like “apply a cinematic zoom to this clip” or “swap the background,” and Gemini will edit the video for you automatically.
What makes Gemini Omni even more interesting is that it supports multiple types of input at once. You can combine text, images, videos, and even audio into one final output. For example, you could provide a still image, an audio track, and a visual effect prompt, then ask Gemini to generate a complete video using all of them together.
Since Omni is built on Gemini’s reasoning architecture, Google says it has a much better understanding of real-world physics and movement, including things like gravity, motion, and object interaction, making the generated videos look more realistic overall.
For now, Google is launching the first model in the Omni family called Gemini Omni Flash. It’s rolling out to Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers through the Gemini app. Google also says users will be able to remix YouTube Shorts using Gemini Omni starting later this week.
Gemini can now track deals and price drops across the web for you
One of the best features Google announced today, at least in my opinion, is the new Gemini-powered Universal Cart. The feature works across different retailers and Google services, and once you add products to the cart while browsing Search or chatting with Gemini, it starts working in the background automatically.
Google says Universal Cart will track price drops, monitor stock availability, show price history insights, and even notify you when a product comes back in stock.
What makes it even more interesting is how smart it seems to be. For example, if you’re building a custom PC, Gemini can understand compatibility behind the scenes and stop you from adding incompatible components to your cart. And if something doesn’t work, it’ll suggest alternative products automatically. It can also analyze the cards you’ve saved in Google Wallet and recommend the best payment method to maximize cashback, rewards, or savings.
Another big advantage is that it works across multiple retailers instead of locking you into one storefront. So whether you’re adding products from Amazon, Walmart, Nike, or Target, everything gets tracked together in one Universal Cart.
Universal Cart is expected to begin rolling out later this summer, although only in the U.S. for now.
Google Search is getting a whole lot different
For years, the Google search box has basically just been a place where you type questions and get results from the web. But at I/O 2026, Google announced some major changes to Search that could dramatically change how people use it going forward.
Search is no longer limited to just text. Google says users will now be able to combine text, images, videos, and even Chrome tabs into a single search query. Search is also getting something called Search Agents, which work somewhat similarly to Gemini Spark. These agents can run in the background 24/7 and keep track of information that matters to you.
For example, you could create a Search Agent to monitor a stock you’re interested in or continuously look for properties in a specific area within a certain budget and size range.
Google is also introducing custom dashboards and trackers for ongoing tasks. The company describes these as personalized “mini apps” built around your own workflows, whether that’s planning a wedding, tracking nutrition goals, or managing long-term projects. Google says these agents and mini apps will begin rolling out later this summer, initially for AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S.
Gmail is finally getting the conversational AI search it needed
If you’ve ever wondered why Gmail still felt stuck with old-school keyword search despite Google pushing conversational AI everywhere else, Google is finally changing that at I/O 2026.
The company has introduced a new feature called Gmail Live, which lets users conversationally search through their inbox instead of typing traditional keywords. For example, you could simply ask something like, “Find the flight number for my flight today,” and Gmail will pull up the relevant information directly.
Alongside this, Google is also expanding the AI Inbox experience it first introduced earlier this year. The feature essentially turns Gmail into a more personalized dashboard for tasks, updates, and important information using Gemini. Google says the expanded AI Inbox experience will now roll out to Google AI Plus and AI Pro subscribers as well.
