Google Bets on Control Plane to Win AI Race

Google Cloud Next 2026 revealed that the real AI battleground is infrastructure, not models. Analyst John Furrier argues that whoever controls the agentic control plane — the layer connecting data and systems across the enterprise — wins the AI era. Key insights include the critical role of contextual data in agentic AI, with experts from Google Cloud and OpenText stressing that models need the right data at the right time, not just raw storage. Enterprises are also restructuring teams and decision-making around AI-driven token economies, signaling a fundamental corporate reset.