Google's Gemini Spark aims to make AI agents finally useful

At I/O 2026, Google unveiled Gemini Spark, its most ambitious AI agent for consumers yet, promising to deliver on the long-awaited promise of truly useful personal assistants. Unlike previous agentic experiments that were slow and browser-hijacking, Spark is a 24/7 cloud-based agent that can run continuously without an open laptop. It integrates natively with Google's suite of services—Gmail, Drive, Docs, Photos, and Search—and will support over 30 external partners including Dropbox, Uber, and Spotify. The agent rolls out to trusted testers this week, with a US beta launching next week on Google's Ultra plan. Google also introduced the Daily Brief, a morning update feature similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT Pulse.

The announcement comes on the heels of OpenClaw's explosive growth, which gained millions of users since November 2025 by allowing agents to operate through everyday apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. OpenAI acquired OpenClaw in February 2026, keeping it open-source. Google's strategy leverages its existing ecosystem to offer deeper integration than any competitor. The company claims Gemini Spark can handle tasks like shopping, coordinating schedules, planning events—with examples like planning a neighborhood block party by tracking RSVPs and reminders. Google DeepMind's CTO Koray Kavukcuoglu expressed hope that agents would finally become part of our daily lives in 2026.