Google I/O Developer Conference begins in May

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]So, right now Google is rolling out new AI tools in search as chatbots start to chip away at its lead. One big change, users can create agents inside Google search tools that can work on their own over time. Google is saying they could keep you updated on new announcements from your favorite brands or athletes, and you're also going to see a larger search bar built for more conversational questions. Google plans to spend up to 190 billion dollars on AI this year.

[00:00:32]Artificial intelligence is the focus of this week's Google IO developer conference in San Francisco, where the company is unveiling new AI features and product updates. So, joining us now is Google search expert Nick Burns here to talk about what is going to be changing, Nick, and also how these tools really affect us in our everyday lives. So, I want to ask you first off here, what are some of maybe the big announcements that we can expect coming out of Google IO this year?

[00:01:02]Right. You know, I think you kind of hit the nail on the head. We're looking at a pretty new shift in kind of how we're thinking about AI. You're going to hear a lot about agentic AI, which is really just a fancy phrase for the AI is able to actually do things on your behalf with your supervision.

[00:01:20]And so, this is going to just really open up a lot of more opportunities to help be more helpful in your daily life and simplify your routine and and even unleash your creativity. Yeah, I love that. Let's talk a little bit about the shift and kind of Google, I don't know if it's a shift necessarily, but just a focus right now on AI. We just talked about 190 what billion dollars in this investment here. Tell me about that focus and really the intentionality into looking into AI.

[00:01:52]Sure. You know, I think over the years they've all been kind of trained to use Google search in a certain way. You know, you're looking for a Thai restaurant near you or the best Thai restaurant near you and you just put best Thai restaurant near me into Google.

[00:02:06]But I think what we're seeing now and with these new features that we we've added to Google Search over the last few years is is really kind of a more conversational way to really get the information that you're looking for very quickly. So you can have [clears throat] a lot more detail in what you're searching for. So maybe you want a Thai restaurant near you that offers a lot of great vegetarian options or vegan options or you have there's like really family-friendly or kid-friendly.

[00:02:34]And AI mode in search will actually go out and you know, search through the internet for those kind of options for you and present them in a really nice way.

[00:02:43]You know, you did mention just a few seconds ago here about how AI can do a lot of these things on your behalf with your supervision and your permission. So let's talk about kind of some of those concerns about privacy, accuracy and then just kind of the reliance on AI overall. How is Google addressing those issues for those who are maybe a little bit timid to even get into AI?

[00:03:07]That's a really great question. I think first and foremost it's really important to remember that Google is really focusing on developing and using AI responsibly. And so what that means is that the user is in control.

[00:03:19]So everything like whether you're having it add items to your grocery cart, you know, on Instacart, it's not going to check out, you know, without your permission. So it gives you that moment to review everything in your shopping cart to make sure it's accurate and then you're the one who who hits purchase. So that really makes sure that you as the person really retains the power and you have the identity or I'm sorry, the opportunity to verify the information or the task is done correctly. And any of these agentic kind of features, you can also actually watch the AI do the work on your screen.

[00:03:53]And you'll see a little button that says take over task. So at any moment that if you see it doing something funny, you can click that take over task and it'll stop and you can do whatever you need to do. Yeah, you know, Nick, when you talk about this, I'm curious because some people who may be a little bit timid, like I said, to get into AI, they may be wondering, okay, well, this sounds like just what I'm already using Google for.

[00:04:14]Why wouldn't I just stick with kind of my current system? I search, it pops up, and I know that. What is it about AI that maybe they're misunderstanding about getting in there? Because it does kind of learn a little bit of your behavior, right? I mean, your likes and kind of your dislikes if you tell it to.

[00:04:31]Sure, yeah, if you if you share information with it, it'll understand your preferences and help suggest things or, you know, content or information that's relevant to you and your interests.

[00:04:43]But I think really like what a lot of people don't realize is that AI has been in Google products for a really long time and we use it for things like spam detection and all sorts of stuff [clears throat] to keep users safe.

[00:04:54]But really thinking of it as a personal assistant who can kind of do a lot of that work that you don't want to do yourself. So imagine that you're trying to book a restaurant for, you know, a group of friends and everyone has different dietary restrictions and you have all these sorts of different tabs open on your web browser trying to figure out whose menu is best and all this other stuff.

[00:05:15]You can just put that information into AI mode and search and it'll do all that hard work for you to identify the best options depending on what you're looking for. Yeah, that's kind of what I love about it, too. The more you get a little bit, you know, used to it because I can't lie, it was a little bit scary at first, too, kind of figuring it out.

[00:05:31]But, Nick, this has been such a great conversation. Google search expert Nick Burns, thank you so much for being with us and we hope you enjoy the rest of your time in San Francisco.

[00:05:40]You too. Thank you so much.