AI takes center stage: Google unveils its future at I/O 2025

Google's push into artificial intelligence (AI) reached a fever pitch as the U.S. tech giant unveiled the most ambitious overhaul of its market-dominant search engine in over a decade, promising to redefine how users interact with information – and how the internet itself functions.

At its annual developers conference in California, Google introduced "AI Mode" – a feature now available only to U.S. users – that transforms its search engine into a conversational partner capable of answering complex questions with unprecedented nuance.

The rollout, accelerated just two-and-a-half months after limited testing began, underscores Google's confidence in its ability to wield AI without compromising accuracy, even as rivals like ChatGPT and Perplexity chip away at its dominance.

Central to this shift is Gemini 2.5, Google's latest AI model, which is being integrated into search algorithms to handle everything from live video queries to automated ticket purchases. The company also teased futuristic tools, including "Deep Search" for tackling intricate research topics and Project Mariner, an AI agent designed to book reservations or navigate websites autonomously.

For those willing to pay, Google launched an "AI Ultra Plan" priced at $250 monthly – a staggering leap from its $20 "Pro" tier – that offers early access to experimental features, 30 terabytes of storage, and ad-free YouTube. The move reflects the soaring costs of AI development, with Alphabet's capital expenditures projected to hit $75 billion in 2025 alone.

Yet the stakes extend far beyond technology. Google's AI overviews, which now appear atop search results for 1.5 billion users, have already disrupted the digital ecosystem. A BrightEdge study found clickthrough rates plummeting nearly 30 percent as people increasingly find answers within Google's AI-generated summaries rather than visiting external sites. This shift has sparked alarm among publishers.

(With input from agencies)