Google Search as you know it is over

The era of the 'ten blue links' is officially over. Google unveiled on Tuesday an AI-powered overhaul of Search centered around a reimagined 'intelligent search box' — what the company describes as the biggest change to this entry point to the web since the search box debuted more than 25 years ago. Instead of returning a simple list of links, Google Search will drop users into AI-powered interactive experiences at times.

Google is also introducing tools that can dispatch 'information agents' to gather information on a user's behalf, along with tools that let users build personalized mini apps tailored to their needs. The resulting experience will no longer look much like how people envision Google Search, which has long been defined by ranked links to websites that have the information you need. With the revamped Search experience, the new search box simply expands to accommodate longer, more conversational queries, rather than making you decide what type of search experience or mode you want to choose at the start of your query.

Google's AI Overviews will also allow users to ask follow-up questions in AI Mode, beginning Tuesday, the company noted. Google's Head of Search, Liz Reid, explained that users can send an alert to track market movements in a particular sector with very specific parameters, and the agent will map out a monitoring plan for you, including the tools and the data it needs to access. The shift means that 'searching the web' will increasingly be performed by AI agents rather than humans.

Instead, people will focus more on acting on the information those agents provide instead of manually clicking links. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that the company wants to bring its AI technology to as many people as possible, and make it more broadly accessible, including its personal AI agent Spark, which will eventually be free. The new search box is arriving this week, and generative UI is arriving this summer.

Both are free. The mini-app building feature and information agents will roll out first to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers this summer.