Google reinvents search before AI rivals replace it

Google is reinventing the product that made it one of the richest companies in history: search. Search faces an existential threat from AI chatbots, so Google is moving proactively to upend its own core business before someone else does. It's also an acknowledgment that describing what you're looking for in conversational language is a better way to find information than guessing the right keywords. In what it billed as the biggest change to the search box since its debut, Google announced that it is allowing the box to expand for longer queries and chat-style exchanges. Google's AI infusion goes far beyond search. It's betting that AI is breaking free from the chatbot and will find a home in virtually everything it makes, including new types of hardware, such as wearables. The Gemini app has been designed for those who want to use agents for a wider range of tasks. In addition to an updated model (Gemini 3.5 Flash) Google has added Spark, a personal assistant that will eventually also be integrated into the Chrome browser and other apps.