Google bets on AI agents at I/O 2026, aiming to make virtual assistants truly useful
By
Hayden Field
Baker's choice. Dense with flavour, light on filler.
Summary
Google is positioning itself as a leading contender in the AI agent space, following the viral success of the open-source platform OpenClaw. At Google I/O 2026, the company announced new AI agents capable of gathering information, planning events, summarizing inboxes and calendars, and running continuously in the background. The article argues that Google's unique infrastructure and scale may give it an edge in making AI agents truly useful, contrasting with the industry's previous failures to deliver on the promise of capable personal assistants.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledFor years, tech companies have promised AI will give everyone a capable personal assistant but delivered something more like a clueless intern.
Over the past six months, that has started to change, thanks largely to the viral open-source AI agent platform OpenClaw.
Among the top AI labs now chasing similar success, one seems particularly well-poised to make agents succeed at a large scale: Google.
The agents can run continuously in the background, and the company debuted a suite of new AI agents, like Gemini Spark, as well as changes to Search at Google I/O this year.
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