Google is rolling out its first truly “always-on” AI agent that it says can plan parties, collate notes, and run a variety of other tasks in the background.
Named Spark, the agent can run 24/7 and take actions on your behalf, Google said. While it can perform tasks that involve coding, Google is pitching Spark as a more all-around digital assistant, and a big shift in making Gemini not just a chatbot, but a more proactive helper.
Business Insider previously reported Google was internally testing a “24/7” agent codenamed Remy that could take actions on the user’s behalf.
Spark lives inside the Gemini app, is powered by Google’s new Gemini 3.5 model, and runs on Google’s Cloud so it can continuously run in the background.
“You don’t need to keep your laptop open to make sure it’s running,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai on a call with reporters ahead of Google I/O, its annual developer event.
AI agents, particularly for coding, have exploded in popularity in recent months. In some cases, coders are walking around with their laptops ajar to keep the agents running because they run on the device itself, although there are workarounds.
The popularity of Anthropic’s Claude Code in particular has left Google behind in the AI coding wars. Spark could be Google’s way to win on another front by tapping into its sprawling product empire, already woven into so many people’s lives.
Google said Spark will be able to use and read from the company’s first-party products, such as Gmail and Docs, and will soon connect with Chrome. Over time, Google will update Spark so it can talk to third-party tools, too, it said.
“If you need to email your boss with a status update, Spark can pull all the facts from your emails, docs, sheets, and slides, and write the draft for you,” said Josh Woodward, VP of Google Gemini, on the call with reporters. Google will also soon let you text and email with your Spark agents, he said.
Woodward described Spark as like “tossing things over your shoulder” for the AI to catch and complete. He gave an example of how Spark might help plan a party by tracking RSVPs, sending reminders, and looking up homeowner association rules to see if giant inflatables are allowed.
Google is rolling out Spark to trusted testers this week and to Google Ultra subscribers in the US next week in beta. Until now, Google’s Ultra plan has cost $249.99 a month, but the company is introducing a new $100 Ultra tier to get people using its new agent tool (if you want to max out your usage, Google will offer a still-slightly-reduced $200 a month).
After all, those tokens don’t come cheap.
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