Google Search deploys Gemini Flash 3.5 for AI-generated interfaces, agent-based information gathering

Google unveiled an overhaul of Search that replaces traditional ranked links with AI-generated interfaces powered by Gemini Flash 3.5, the company announced Tuesday at Google I/O. The new system generates custom user interfaces on the fly for each query, with generative UI rolling out free to all users this summer.

The changes represent a shift from information retrieval to action. According to Google Head of Search Liz Reid, Search will now "build custom experiences just for your individual questions, from dynamic layouts, interactive visuals to persistent and stateful project spaces that you can return to again and again."

Technical implementation

The system was built in partnership with Google DeepMind using Gemini Flash 3.5 and Google Antigravity, the company's agentic development platform. Users can ask follow-up questions and receive real-time generated visualizations in response. The search box itself now expands to accommodate longer, conversational queries with an AI-powered suggestion system that goes beyond autocomplete.

Information agents and mini-apps

Starting this summer, users will be able to create multiple "information agents" that operate continuously in the background. These agents track web changes and synthesize updates based on specific parameters — functioning as an AI-powered evolution of Google Alerts, which launched in 2003.

Reid provided an example: "You could send an alert to track market movements in a particular sector with very specific parameters, and the agent will map out a monitoring plan for you, including the tools and the data it needs to access — like our real-time finance data."

Users can also build customizable mini-apps directly in Search using natural language commands. Examples include meal-planning apps that integrate with personal calendars or fitness apps tailored to specific goals.

Current adoption numbers

Google's AI Overviews currently serve more than 2.5 billion monthly users, while its conversational AI Mode reaches 1 billion monthly users. For comparison, according to Google, ChatGPT has 900 million weekly active users as of earlier this year, suggesting more frequent per-user engagement but lower total reach.

Rollout timeline

The redesigned search box launches this week. Generative UI will roll out free to all Google users this summer. Information agents and mini-app building features will first arrive for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers this summer, with broader free access planned. According to CEO Sundar Pichai, "Part of the reason we focus on delivering frontier models – highly capable, but also very efficient, fast, and at a lower price — is because we want to bring it to as many people as possible."

What this means

This shift moves Google Search away from directing users to publisher websites and toward keeping users within Google's ecosystem through AI-generated interfaces and agent-mediated information gathering. Publishers already facing declining referrals from AI Overviews will likely see further traffic decreases. The technology itself — generative UI powered by Gemini Flash 3.5 — represents Google's bet that users prefer synthesized, interactive experiences over traditional link lists. With free access to these features for billions of users, Google is making its largest deployment of generative AI to date, fundamentally changing how people access information on the web.