Google Turns Search Bar Into AI Agent

Google has unveiled plans to transform its search engine into an AI assistant capable of booking restaurants, tracking news, and contacting businesses. CEO Sundar Pichai announced Gemini Spark, a personal AI agent launching next week for top-tier US subscribers, alongside always-on AI agents coming to Google Search this summer in what the company calls its biggest changes in 25 years. The updates come as Google races to compete with ChatGPT and other AI rivals, with its Gemini app now boasting 900 million monthly users. However, the shift raises concerns for online publishers, as Google searches already end 58% of the time without users clicking any external website, threatening traffic and ad revenue across the web.