05/20/2026
Locked in for Google Marketing Live event later today - yesterday they held their developer event Google I/O, here is some news that came out of that::
2026 Google I/O Announcements via Search Engine Land
Google’s new intelligent Search box – its biggest change to the search box in 25 years
https://searchengineland.com/googles-new-intelligent-search-box-its-biggest-change-to-the-search-box-in-25-years-477968
Google unveiled the biggest change to its search box in 25 years. It is calling the new search box the “Intelligent Search box.” The new search box aims to bring easier access to the AI search features in Google Search to Google’s users.
Google Search now powered by Gemini 3.5 Flash
https://searchengineland.com/google-search-now-powered-by-gemini-3-5-flash-477975
Gemini 3.5 is already powering Google Search’s AI Mode and is likely soon to power AI Overviews. It is a step up from the previous AI model and will continue to get smarter and more useful.
Google Search gains information agents and improved agentic experiences
https://searchengineland.com/google-search-gains-information-agents-and-improved-agentic-experiences-477979
The information agents will help you stay on top of your questions and tasks. Google said the agent will “intelligently look across everything on the web, like blogs, news sites and social posts, plus our freshest data, such as real-time info on finance, shopping and sports, to monitor for changes related to your specific question.”
Related news: Google announced Gemini Omni: https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-omni/
Google Search Universal Cart, expands UCP and AP2
https://searchengineland.com/google-search-universal-cart-expands-ucp-and-ap2-477989
Universal Cart. Google announced what it is calling the Universal Cart, where you can put products and items from multiple retailers into one single Google Universal Cart and check out on all those items with your Google Wallet with the click of a button.
Related News: Instacart integrates Google Gemini: https://seekingalpha.com/news/4595022-instacart-enhances-agentic-shopping-with-gemini-integration (requires free account)
Instacart (CART) is making it even easier to shop online as the company announced a partnership with Google’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) Gemini AI platform that allows users to build their shopping cart through natural conversation.
Instead of choosing items from a grocery store item list, users can ask Gemini to build a menu or add items needed for a certain recipe while at the same time selecting substitutions, all of which are added to the Instacart (CART) shopping cart. Smart Shop, Instacart’s (CART) AI-driven personalization experience, draws on purchase history and selected dietary preferences to ensure the cart is built for a shopper’s specific household.
Shoppers start with an intent that is recognized by Gemini, at which time Gemini prompts the user to connect their Instacart account, select their preferred retailer, and go straight to building a cart. Instacart’s (CART) catalog and personalization infrastructure do the matching in real time, and items are added directly into a live cart.
Google’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) Gemini is the latest in a series of major AI platforms where Instacart (CART) has launched an agentic grocery integration. The catalog, inventory data, personalization, and fulfillment network are the same across every surface Instacart (CART) has launched on, such as Anthropic's (ANTHRO) Claude or OpenAI's (OPENAI) ChatGPT.
“The more you shop with Instacart, the smarter our intelligence layer gets for you, surfacing the right products, flagging the right replacements, and helping you discover things that fit your household's needs,” the company said in a statement.
