We’ve seen most of the Android news last week, so it was time to find out what’s coming to another pillar of Google’s empire: search. Perhaps the biggest change is an overhaul of the search box, which has been the de facto front page of the Internet for hundreds of millions of people for decades. Starting today, Google is rolling out “AI-powered smart search” in all languages and countries where AI mode is available. The company says this will offer users suggestions “that go beyond autocomplete” as it designed the search box to better anticipate their intent and help them formulate questions. In addition to text, they will be able to use images, files, videos and even Chrome tabs as search entries. Introducing our brand new intelligent search field, completely redesigned with AI. This is the biggest upgrade to our research field in 25 years and begins rolling out today. Designed to anticipate your intent, the new search box helps you formulate your question with AI… pic.twitter.com/hgEI2BzhwV -Google (@Google) May 19, 2026 Desktop and mobile users around the world now have the option to ask a follow-up question in an AI preview and then jump straight into AI mode. Google says that the deeper you dig, the more relevant the links and additional information become to what you’re searching for. It is not yet clear whether these changes will hinder the workarounds that many users (*waves*) have turned to in order to avoid AI previews and other AI features in search results. Either way, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot more people abandoning Google Search for alternatives that offer AI-free web searches (*another wave*). As is usual, Google is revamping AI mode with another model change. Starting today, AI Mode will now be powered by Gemini 3.5 Flash by default. This is the latest Flash model from Google (more details on this soon). We make a generative user interface available to everyone for free thanks to Google @Antigravity and the agent coding capabilities of Gemini 3.5 Flash. Research can create custom visual tools and simulations on the fly, tailored to your specific question. Under the hood, look for… pic.twitter.com/eb1KqRHuft -Google (@Google) May 19, 2026 Speaking of which, Google is expanding personal intelligence in AI mode. This is a feature that lets you grant Gemini access to pull information from apps like Gmail and Google Photos if you want (Google Calendar integration is in the works). The idea is to allow Gemini to better understand your personal context. Google made Personal Intelligence free for all US users in March. As of today, the tool is available in 98 languages in nearly 200 countries and territories. Post navigation Google I/O 2026: Live updates as company announces new features for Gemini, AI, search and more
