GOOGLE LAUNCHES UNIFIED GEMINI AGENT FOR ENTERPRISE WORKERS

Google unveiled a new Gemini agent designed to carry out work tasks across apps and devices from a single interface, the company announced at its Gemini at Work event. Google Cloud chief executive Thomas Kurian said Gemini can now act as "your new single, universal agent for work", capable of planning tasks, using tools and connecting to a company's own systems to deliver finished output. Kurian said the agent works inside documents, inboxes and developer environments that staff already use, and selects what Google described as the best underlying AI model for each job. The tool forms part of Google's Gemini Enterprise app and is currently available only to enterprise customers in private preview, according to Google.

Google said the agent operates inside Workspace applications including Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets and Calendar, and can also be reached from mobile devices, desktop computers, the web and third-party platforms such as Slack and Microsoft 365. Because it runs in the cloud, Google said, Gemini keeps the same context across every connected device. The company said Gemini can call on job-specific sub-agents to complete tasks and can also function as a "coworker agent" with its own identity and a dedicated "@agents.company.com" email address. Google had previously launched a consumer-facing tool called Gemini Spark in May, which operates through a separate interface within the Gemini app.

The launch reflects a wider shift in artificial intelligence tools away from simple question-answering towards systems that can take on assigned tasks such as generating code, scheduling meetings and booking travel, with competitors including Meta's Muse and OpenAI's recently unveiled Dots agent pursuing similar approaches. Google has not set out a public timeline for moving the Gemini agent beyond private preview to wider enterprise or consumer availability. Kurian said the system is built with what he described as the security, administration and governance required by businesses.