Key facts at a glance

• Google used its I/O 2026 event to announce five major Gemini changes spanning models, design, video creation, automation, and daily planning.
• Gemini 3.5 Flash arrives in the Gemini app and AI Mode in Search with faster performance, improved interactive interfaces, and stronger coding-agent benchmarks.
• The Neural Expressive redesign adds smoother animations, vibrant colors, new typography, haptic feedback, and richer response formats across web, Android, and iOS.
• Gemini Omni Flash begins with video generation from mixed inputs and includes an Avatars feature for videos built around a digital version of the user.
• Gemini Spark is an always-on agent that can work in the background across email, Workspace apps, third-party services, and local files on macOS.
• Gemini Daily Brief compiles calendar events, Gmail updates, and connected-app information into a prioritized daily rundown.

Google used its annual I/O 2026 event to outline a broad reset for Gemini, the company's flagship AI assistant. The changes are not limited to a fresh coat of paint. Google is introducing a faster model, a new design language, a multimodal video generator, an always-on agent, and a daily planning tool. Together, the updates show how the assistant is moving from a chat window that answers questions toward a platform that can produce richer media, work across apps, and act in the background. The company announced the updates on Tuesday during its developer conference.

The first thing many users may notice is the redesign, but the model updates and agentic features are the most consequential. Google says the new capabilities will roll out to different products and subscription tiers at different times, with some features reaching trusted testers first and others launching in beta for US subscribers. The five biggest changes cover the core model, the interface, video creation, task automation, and personal briefing.

1. Gemini 3.5 Flash arrives in the app and Search

Google's latest flagship model, Gemini 3.5 Flash, is coming to the Gemini app and AI Mode in Search. The company describes the model as faster and more efficient than other leading AI models while offering richer, more interactive web user interfaces and graphics. That combination matters because Gemini is no longer only generating text. It is increasingly asked to build small interactive experiences, produce visual explanations, and support coding tasks inside the assistant.

Google also says Gemini 3.5 Flash represents a major leap forward for coding useful AI agents. According to the company, it beats Gemini 3.1 Pro on coding and agentic benchmarks. The claim positions Flash as more than a speed-focused release. It suggests that the model is designed to handle the multi-step work that agents need: understanding a goal, breaking it into tasks, using tools, and checking results. Gemini 3.5 Flash is the first model in the Gemini 3.5 family. Google plans to launch Gemini 3.5 Pro next month, which will likely become the higher-end option for more demanding tasks.

2. Neural Expressive redesign changes how Gemini looks and responds

Google is giving the Gemini app a makeover with a design language called Neural Expressive. The revamped app includes smoother animations, more vibrant colors, new typography, and haptic feedback when users tap buttons. Those details are cosmetic on the surface, but they affect how responsive and approachable the assistant feels. Haptic feedback, for example, can make a voice-and-touch interface feel more immediate, while smoother animations can help users follow longer interactions.

The redesign also changes Gemini's responses. Google is reformatting answers so the most important information appears at the top. Responses can include imagery, interactive timelines, narrated videos, and dynamic graphics. That shift makes the app less like a plain text transcript and more like a structured information environment. A user asking for an explanation may see a visual summary, a timeline, or a short narrated clip rather than several paragraphs of text.

Google is also making it easier to switch from typing in the Gemini app to the voice-enabled Gemini Live mode. Gemini Live will soon gain new regional dialects. The Neural Expressive redesign is rolling out across the Gemini app on the web, Android, and iOS, so the visual and interaction changes are intended to reach a broad set of users rather than remain an experimental interface.

3. Gemini Omni Flash can create video from mixed inputs

Google is adding a new kind of model to the Gemini app that it says will eventually create anything from any input. The first model in that family, Gemini Omni Flash, will initially focus on video generation using a combination of images, audio, video, and text. That means a user could assemble several kinds of source material and ask the model to produce a video. Google says Gemini Omni can create realistic-looking scenes with more accurate physics and can reason about what comes next in a sequence.

Google is also introducing an Avatars feature. Users can create videos with a digital version of themselves using their own voice. The output can then be edited through conversations in the Gemini app. This conversational editing model is important because video generation often involves many small revisions. Instead of starting over, a user can ask for changes in natural language and keep refining the result.

Gemini Omni Flash is rolling out to Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers in the Gemini app and Google Flow. It will also be available for free on YouTube Shorts and the YouTube Create App. The distribution plan shows Google is positioning the video model both as a premium assistant feature and as a creator tool for short-form video. The free availability on YouTube products could expose the model to a much larger audience and generate more feedback for future versions.

4. Gemini Spark is an always-on agent for background work

Google is launching Gemini Spark, an always-on AI agent that performs work in the background while users complete other tasks. The company compares its approach to the wave of agent platforms that have emerged around open-source projects. The core idea is that the assistant should not wait for a prompt and then stop. It should be able to take on a task, work across connected services, and report back.

Gemini Spark can do things like send emails, scan monthly credit card statements for hidden subscription fees, or create a summary of meeting notes. Those examples show the range Google is targeting: communication, personal finance monitoring, and workplace productivity. The agent runs on Gemini 3.5 Flash and can connect to Workspace apps such as Docs, Sheets, and Slides. It can also connect to third-party services including Canva, Instacart, and OpenTable. On macOS, the agent can tap into local files through the Gemini app.

The local-file support is notable because it moves Gemini Spark beyond cloud documents and into the files stored on a user's computer. That could make the agent more useful for people who work with local drafts, downloaded reports, or personal archives. It also raises expectations around permissions and privacy, since an always-on agent needs access to the information it is asked to handle. Google says Gemini Spark is rolling out to trusted testers this week, followed by a beta launch for US-based Google AI Ultra subscribers next week.

5. Gemini Daily Brief turns connected apps into a daily rundown

Google is bringing another AI-powered agent to the Gemini app called Daily Brief. It gathers information from apps that users have connected to Gemini and puts together a summary of the day. The briefing can include upcoming events from Calendar and updates received in Gmail. Instead of opening several apps to understand what needs attention, a user can get a single overview.

Google says Daily Brief will organize and prioritize its rundowns based on a user's goals. It also provides a feedback mechanism: users can give a briefing a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. That feedback can help the system learn what is useful and what should be deprioritized. The feature fits the broader shift toward proactive assistance. Rather than waiting for a question, Gemini can prepare a concise view of the day and surface items that may need action.

Daily Brief is coming to Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers in the US starting Tuesday. The rollout places the feature in the paid tiers of Google's AI subscription plans, alongside other advanced Gemini capabilities. It also shows how Google is linking the assistant to the calendar, email, and connected services that already hold much of a user's daily context.

Source: The Verge News