Google folds Gemini Spark agent into main Gemini app as 'Task' button next to Chat

Google is integrating Gemini Spark, its 24/7 personal agent, directly into the main Gemini chat experience. The redesign adds "Chat" and "Task" buttons just above the prompt box, with "Task" now serving as the entry point to Spark, according to 9to5Google's report on Oct. 12, 2026.

This is a product and interface change. No new model, context window, pricing, or benchmark data accompanies the update.

What changed

• Chat/Task toggle: Two buttons above the prompt box separate standard conversation from agent tasks. Google describes it as a "new home for Spark: Start new tasks anytime and keep track of them in your chats."
• Navigation drawer: The standalone "Spark" entry is removed.
• New "Scheduled" page: Surfaces Spark tasks and scheduled actions, organized into four tabs: Active, Paused, Completed, and Suggested.
• Unified history: The "Recents" list is no longer labeled as such. All chats and Spark tasks now appear in one combined history.
• New filter: A filter icon sorts history by All, Ready, Needs attention, and In progress.
• Renamed settings: "Gemini Spark Settings" in the account menu is now "Task settings."

The update also revamps settings and the navigation drawer more broadly, per the report.

Rollout and availability

The change is rolling out through a server-side update on Android. 9to5Google reports it is not yet visible on iOS or the web. Gemini Spark requires a Google AI Pro or AI Ultra subscription. Subscription pricing was not part of the source report.

Google announced Spark at I/O 2026 in May as a 24/7 personal agent inside Gemini. Details on the underlying model, supported actions, and usage limits were not included in this report.

Branding shift

9to5Google notes that Google appears to be deemphasizing the "Spark" name. The renamed "Task settings" menu is one example, and the primary interface label is now "Task" rather than "Spark." Google has not publicly stated whether the Spark name will be retired. That interpretation comes from the publication's observation, not from a Google announcement.

What this means

The redesign addresses a friction problem. Previously, Spark sat in a separate section of the app, so starting an agent task meant leaving the chat flow. A persistent Chat/Task toggle places agent behavior one tap from any conversation, and a unified history treats agent runs as a first-class part of the conversation record rather than a separate product.

The status filters (Ready, Needs attention, In progress) and the Active/Paused/Completed/Suggested tabs point to long-running, asynchronous work as the intended use case. Users are expected to delegate tasks and return to check results, not wait on a response. The "Needs attention" state in particular suggests Spark tasks can stall and request user input.

The move away from the Spark brand also matters. Naming the feature by function ("Task") rather than by product suggests Google wants agentic behavior to be a default mode of Gemini, not a premium add-on identity. Access remains gated behind paid tiers, however, so the integration is a UI change, not a change in who can use the agent.

The staggered rollout, with Android first and iOS and web not yet showing the update, means feature parity across platforms is still pending.