AI & Tech · National
Google launches a 'universal' Gemini agent that handles work tasks for businesses, with consumers to get it later
Google unveiled a Gemini AI agent that can plan and carry out tasks across work apps from one interface. It launches for businesses first, with Google citing security, scale and performance as reasons to wait on consumers.
Listen to this brief · 5 min
Read aloud by an AI voice from the text below. Download MP3
What happened
Google announced a new Gemini AI agent on Thursday that can take on work tasks for users across apps and devices. The Verge described it as a "universal" agent and reported that it was unveiled at the Gemini at Work event. It will be available inside the Gemini Enterprise app, where users can chat with the agent and assign it tasks from a single interface.
TechCrunch reported that the announcement came at a Google Cloud event. According to the outlet, the agent is designed to do more than answer questions. It can also complete tasks on a user's behalf.
How the agent works
Goals instead of step-by-step instructions
Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, said the agent can be given "objectives, not just instructions," according to TechCrunch. That means it can plan the work, use custom skills and tools, and connect to a company's internal systems to reach a goal. The Verge reported that Gemini can also hand pieces of a job to job-specific sub-agents.
By default, the agent chooses the AI model it judges best for each task. TechCrunch reported that users can override that choice and pick a model themselves, including third-party options, starting with Anthropic's Claude models. Users can follow the agent's work in a "tasks inbox" that shows its thinking process, delegation to subagents, use of skills, code and progress.
An AI coworker with its own email
Google says the agent can act as a "coworker agent" with a dedicated identity and its own "@agents.company.com" email address, The Verge reported. TechCrunch said the agent gets its own Workspace account and knows who is on which team, their time zones, who approves items and what is on people's calendars. Workers can reach it by tagging it, emailing it, sharing files with it or adding it to a group chat.
As the agent takes actions, it writes an audit trail credited to the agent instead of to a person, according to TechCrunch.
Where it connects
The agent works inside Workspace apps like Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets and Calendar, The Verge reported. Because it runs in the cloud, it keeps the same context across connected devices. TechCrunch listed access from iOS and Android phones, Windows and Mac desktops, the command line, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, ServiceNow and Slack. It can also connect to business systems such as Jira, Confluence, Git, BigQuery, Databricks, Postgres and Snowflake, along with any Model Context Protocol server.
Why Google is starting with businesses
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said at the event that Gemini has over 1 billion monthly active users and that nearly 90% of Fortune 100 businesses use Gemini Enterprise at work, TechCrunch reported. Given that corporate adoption, Google will bring the agent to businesses first and roll it out to consumers later. Pichai said this approach lets the company work through the "harder problems around security, scale, and performance" that come with powerful agents.
TechCrunch reported that early testers included sportswear brand On, Shopify and PayPal. Google also announced spending tools, including multi-model orchestration, smart routing and real-time spend caps, which it said will help businesses control their AI costs.
The bigger picture
TechCrunch placed the launch within a broader shift of AI tools from conversation toward taking ownership of tasks such as writing code, scheduling meetings and booking travel. The outlet noted the rise of consumer agents like Meta's Muse, messaging-based agents like Instinct, and the recent debut of ChatGPT's Dots. Readers can see what early testing showed about that rival in our look at OpenAI's Dots agent. More coverage is in our AI and tech section.
What to watch next
- When Google brings the Gemini agent to consumers, which it says will come after the business launch.
- Google's planned expansion of the model picker to include open source models and other private models.
- How businesses use the new spending tools, such as real-time spend caps, as they adopt the agent.
