Google declares search is AI as agentic overhaul reaches one billion users
The search giant’s new dynamic search box and Gemini 3.5 Flash-powered agents redefine the user experience, drawing criticism for diminishing the visibility of standard web links.
Google has formally declared that "Google search is AI search" at its I/O 2026 conference, marking a definitive shift in its core product strategy. The company reported that usage of its AI Mode has doubled every quarter, surpassing one billion monthly active users. This growth is driven by a conversational interface that counts follow-up queries as searches, alongside aggressive integration of AI Mode into the standard search experience.
Central to this overhaul is a new dynamic search box that Google describes as the most significant change to its interface in 25 years. Unlike traditional autocomplete, the box expands as users type and uses generative AI, guided by the Gemini model, to predict user intent. This feature is rolling out globally today and serves as a primary gateway to AI Mode, which is now seamlessly integrated into AI Overviews on both mobile and desktop platforms.
The company is also introducing agentic capabilities powered by the Gemini 3.5 Flash model, utilising a harness called Antigravity. These agents can generate custom user interfaces and mini-applications to answer complex queries. For instance, a user requesting a travel itinerary can receive a dashboard with event suggestions, map embeds, and calendar integration, pulling data from both Google’s ecosystem and the wider web.
While Google states these changes aim to improve efficiency in extracting information from increasingly cluttered web content, the implementation has drawn sharp criticism. The AI Mode nudge now hovers at the bottom of AI Overviews, effectively hiding the top of organic search results. Critics argue this design choice reduces the prominence of traditional "blue links," making organic results feel like footnotes rather than the core of the search experience.
Google’s search vice-president Liz Reid indicated that the company views its continued market dominance as proof of the strategy’s success. Despite the rise of competitors such as DuckDuckGo, Bing, and Brave, Google’s search products remain the primary method for online discovery. The company plans to roll out the full suite of these agentic features later this summer, with future improvements to the Gemini 3.5 Pro model potentially enhancing app generation capabilities.
