Google’s annual developer conference has grown so large that it has been split into two in recent years. This technology behemoth held an event last week that was reserved for it its Android mobile operating system, Googlebooks and more. Today’s event has been delivered on all its platforms.
A common theme connecting the two is the company’s AI tools, primarily those based on its Gemini chatbot and related technologies. Basically, like all of 2026, the watchword is “agent.”
Although events like this often sound like a bombshell of “you can do this!” and “yadda yadda new model yadda yadda” shows, new skills and technology rose above the noise, at least for me. Highlights included Google Docs Live, Ask YouTube features, enhancements to Google Flow and Music Streaming and other Intelligent Eyewear.
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There was much to appeal to the real audience of the conference — developers — such as tools to rapidly generate user interface screens, updates on best practice models they can use and other skills they need. But I’m more interested in what they bring us.
Check out our complete coverage of Google I/O 2026 and play-by-play commentary from the event on our archived live blog.
At Google I/O 2026, Google announced that subscribers to the AI service will get a voice and collaboration tool in Google Docs this summer called Docs Live.
Google Docs Live
Docs Live, which records and edits your voice notes, appeals to me as a potential way to manage all my disciplines while testing products and such (currently, I have to jump back and forth to write notes). No doubt, there are plenty of other people who prefer talking to typing who could use something like this — if it works well enough, that is. “A verbal brain dump,” as CEO Sundar Photosi calls it.
It seems that you do not need to give it access to all your Google accounts or web history, which is one of the biggest obstacles in my adoption of many Google AI tools, although, in theory, it will bring better results if you do.
Yes, it’s not free. Available to Google AI subscribers, especially those with AI Pro ($20 per month) or Ultra ($100 or $200 per month) tiers.
Improved answers in Google searches
Google search
Continuing its trend of recent years, Google is expanding its AI inclusion in its search engine, integrating its AI-powered search tools to increase its efficiency and include more context, such as images and PDFs uploaded and opened in Chrome tabs.
Google is also extending SynthID, its technology for reading metadata encoded in images to report whether an image was created or modified using AI, to Chrome. But it also needs a partner, so it may not hold items produced by less popular models.
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The new intelligent search box supports complex, natural language queries and follow-up queries in the answers, as well as multimodal agents that can take action and create visual effects, such as simulation examples.
But the most interesting (to me) are the smart custom widgets you can create with the vibe agent type. If I understand it correctly, it is a way to save complex, repetitive searches and actions.
Ask YouTube allows you to get results that drill down to specific areas in a video.
Ask YouTube
YouTube has long been a major search engine, especially for how-to content. Ask YouTube delivers natural language quiz video results in the requested format, and my favorite feature is jumping directly to the right part of the video you’re looking for.
This ability may be a bit controversial because it has the potential to cut into a lot of revenue streams for creators, which often depend on the amount of time viewers spend watching ads.
On the other hand, though, I tend to skip video results when looking at how-to and gameplay content because I hate scouring videos for the one piece of information I need. I think a lot of people are less like me than I am, so it still seems like it might be a total loss for a lot of creators.
Now available for Premium subscribers.
Object manipulation can be a great help in editing videos quickly.
Google Flow and Streaming Music
Google creative tools
The new Omni model drives many of Google’s latest productivity AI features. It is a new multimodal model for producing video from any input, such as text, audio, other videos and images. A faster version of the model, Omni Flash, drives tools in products like Flow and Flow Music, Google’s video and music creation software.
Now Flow includes conversational agents that you can bring context to current and past projects, help you imagine and create templates, and better in theory for physics simulations. Google also says that Omni Flash allows it to do more accurate editing, among other things.
And Music Flow is expanding to support editing parts of a song, such as changing or editing lyrics without affecting the beat of the song.
These are all capabilities that have the potential to improve your workflow instead of generating whole cloth, although you can bet there will be many more.
Flow and Flow Music native mobile apps are available to all AI-plan subscribers.
Google joins the partnership club for stylish smart glasses.
Smart eyewear
Google’s umbrella term for its smart glasses products is “smart eyewear,” which will range from XR glasses to audio-only models.
I’m not big on smart audio-only solutions, like the headsets announced at CES, because they need to remember what you just said or did. I need visuals.
But for people who can’t remember more than 30 seconds ago, I can see how they might be tempted. Traveling with the display upside down can cause problems for some people, and I suspect it can lead to more distractions while walking, the same way phones do.
I am very surprised The Aura Projectwhich has been in development for a while and is finally becoming an Item to Buy later this year. Why? Because it looks like a lightweight VR competitor — a pair of Xreal glasses and a puck running Android XR on a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor — that will work connected to other devices like a phone, laptop or Steam Deck.
Google has partnerships with eyewear suppliers like Warby Parker and Gentle Monster for other offerings, and they’re coming this fall.
Perhaps most notably, some of the glasses will support iOS, making them compatible with iPhones (and maybe iPads?). The upcoming integration of Apple and Gemini to make up for all the lack of Siri also announced the support of Gemini Spark and Gemini Voice in MacOS coming summer – which means that we will probably hear more about the two new products. WWDC in June.
on the other hand
In the end, a collection of five things isn’t much to find interesting in a three-hour event. There was a lot that seemed more problematic and more dystopian than I found remarkable in an “I want this” way. And at times it felt like the live stream had a clapping song, because the applause seemed out of step with the actual lack of clapping.
Many management skills seem to be factors in the search for an audience, and, like its competitors, Google has sounded as if it is deaf about the negative effects that these factors impose on the intelligence-no-one is asked about.
And, for example, things like Chrome’s fun, seller-friendly shopping platform raise all the usual issues about, like, if there’s a break in the chain of agents, who’s responsible for refunds? Shopping friction isn’t necessarily bad for consumers. It’s just insulting to sellers, though, they usually don’t want to give you time to think.
To be fair, the audience for Google I/O is developers and investors, who are generally very interested in how all these changes can generate revenue.
