Google Search starts acting like an agent

And OpenAI's provenance push

Author

Thomas Smith
May 19, 2026

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Google Search starts acting like an agent

Google says AI Mode is now powered by Gemini 3.5 Flash, paired with a rebuilt AI Search box and the first wave of search agents that can watch the web and take actions. That is a meaningful shift: Search is no longer just answering queries -- it is starting to do work.

Google is also expanding "Personal Intelligence" to nearly 200 countries and 98 languages, with no subscription required. Put together, this is Google trying to make Search the default front end for finding, comparing, and booking things online. The open question is whether users treat it as a helpful layer on top of classic search -- or as the thing that replaces the old results page.

Tom’s Take

So, I have a take on something entirely unrelated to this: yesterday’s bombshell jury result in the Musk vs OpenAI trial.

Specifically, how Musk’s attempt to wound a competitor may instead have handed OpenAI a golden ticket in advance of its expected massive IPO. Here’s the story in FastCompany.

Other AI News

  • OpenAI said it is adding C2PA conformance, Google DeepMind's SynthID for images, and a public verification tool for images made in ChatGPT, Codex, or the API. The provenance push is a notable step toward making synthetic media easier to label and verify.

  • Google and Blackstone formed a new joint venture around a TPU cloud, with Blackstone committing an initial $5 billion and a plan for 500MW of capacity online in 2027. The deal is another reminder that compute is still the industry's choke point.

  • The FTC said it has started enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which requires covered platforms to remove nonconsensual intimate images within 48 hours of a valid request. For AI companies, that is now a real compliance deadline, not a hypothetical one.

Today's Strangest AI

The Vatican says Pope Leo XIV will launch his first AI encyclical alongside Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah. That is either a sign of the times or a very unusual panel discussion.