Google revamps search with AI, unveils smart glasses

Google announced Tuesday that it will infuse its search bar, the centerpiece of the world’s most-visited website, with artificial intelligence. The tech giant is also reintroducing hi-tech glasses over a decade after wearers of its first model were called “glassholes” and ridiculed in San Francisco.

At the company’s annual Google I/O developer conference, executives said the search box will accommodate longer, more conversational queries, steering users to interact directly with Google’s chatbot. The shift is powered by the new Gemini 3.5 AI model, announced the same day.

Executives said Gemini will generate longer text predictions based on user input. Everyday searches may return more visual elements and prompts to create calendar invites, spreadsheet plans, or other actions within Google’s product ecosystem using its AI.

“Google Search is AI search,” said Elizabeth Reid, who oversees the product, calling the changes the biggest in Google Search’s nearly 30-year history. The updates rolled out globally Tuesday on desktop and mobile. A promotional video showed results resembling AI Overviews—bulleted summaries—rather than link lists. Users can still opt for the original link version by clicking a “Web” tab.

Reid said Google Search queries hit an all-time high last month. Since the debut of “AI Mode” a year ago, where users chat with a Gemini-powered bot, queries to the chatbot interface have doubled every quarter. Adding photos, videos or documents to Chrome’s search bar automatically triggers AI mode.

The goal of Google Gemini, said Josh Woodward, who leads development, is “a universal assistant that’s personal, proactive, persistent.” The company reported 900 million monthly Gemini app users, still less than ChatGPT’s 900 million weekly users. Adding agents to Search, used by billions daily, expands niche AI beyond tech-savvy users to the broader consumer market.

Subscribers to AI Pro and Ultra plans can create “information agents”—autonomous bots that perform in-depth research and return summaries or action plans. A “generative user interface” feature will produce customized visuals and interactive dashboards. The Gemini Spark agent can access Gmail, Calendar and other Google products to research, shop, and plan trips or tasks.

In partnership with Samsung, Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, Google unveiled “intelligent eyewear”—sunglasses and eyeglasses with voice command to Gemini and embedded cameras for photos or videos, set for fall release. Meta has sold similar Ray-Ban Meta glasses with EssilorLuxottica since 2021.

In 2014, Google sold Google Glass for $1,500, sparking widespread derision, and discontinued it the following year. Reflecting shifting attitudes, Meta sees augmented-reality glasses as a growth area, and Google is developing a second model with an in-lens display, codenamed Project Aura.

Other I/O announcements included AI coding features for Gemini and cybersecurity-focused AI.