The future of Google is a search box that does everything

Last year, after watching Google’s I/O keynote, I wrote that it felt like Google’s future was Google googling . After watching this year’s I/O keynote on Tuesday, I don’t think Google just wants to google for you — I think it wants to do everything for you, all from a search box. Take the trusty Google search bar itself , something Google is generally hesitant to update, which is getting some updates. It will “dynamically” expand as you type longer queries. It will offer “AI-powered suggestions” that Google claims will “go beyond autocomplete,” which could cause you to fill in the blanks of a search in a way you didn’t intend but may or may not be helpful. Or how about what Google actually shows in Search results ? From AI Overviews you can keep asking questions in AI Mode, which generates a custom page with an AI-generated summary of what you’re searching about instead of showing you a traditional list of links. Search results are also going to be even more personalized because Google will be able to generate custom UI for you, including generating things like interactive visuals and graphs right within your search results page. You’re also going to be able to ask Google, right from the search bar, to make “information agents” that can keep track of things you care about — like new sneaker drops or apartment listings — making the search bar a kind of AI-infused Google Alert. Gemini is getting a bunch of upgrades and features, too. …