Google I/O 2026 β Gemini 3.5 Flash Available Day One, Plus Video AI and Autonomous Agents
What happened: Google held its annual event, "I/O 2026," announcing numerous new features centered on AI. It made the fast, low-cost new model "Gemini 3.5 Flash" available the same day, and also unveiled "Gemini Omni," which handles video, and "Gemini Spark," which advances tasks autonomously.
Why it matters: New models focused on speed and cost became immediately usable, and features in the video and agent space expanded all at once. Many are slated for a phased global rollout.
What it means: Many of the features integrate with Search and Google apps, making it easier to engage with AI as an extension of everyday use. We recommend first trying the speed of Gemini 3.5 Flash on the free tier.