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ZDNET's key takeaways
Google Search is getting a new AI Search box.
Search information agents monitor topics in the background.
Agentic coding lets you build small apps in Search.
Remember when Google Search felt simple? I'd type a few words into a box, scan a list of blue links, and hope for the best. That version of Search is long gone, buried deep under AI. At I/O 2026, Google announced a bunch of Search updates that made it clear the product is becoming something more conversational, more personal, and more like an assistant that can do things for me.
Also: Sick of AI in Search? These 7 Google alternatives still put links first
The company said it is bringing "advanced model capabilities to Search with new AI features," including a new AI Search box, information agents, agentic coding, and a personalization feature that pulls from my Google app data, to name a few things.
"The goal of Search has always been simple: to help you ask anything on your mind," said Liz Reid, vice president and head of Search. The difference now, at least as I see it, is that Search is designed not just to answer, but to research, shop, book, monitor, and create on your behalf.
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