Google’s new Search blurs the line with Gemini
Google’s latest wave of Google Search AI integration is turning the classic search box into a conversational, multimodal assistant that increasingly resembles Gemini, raising questions about whether Google still needs two separate AI products for everyday users. At Google I/O, the company announced an “intelligent, AI-powered Search box” that predicts intent, accepts images, videos, and full Chrome tabs as inputs, and runs an AI Mode powered by Gemini 3.5 Flash for follow-up questions. This goes far beyond keyword lookups and basic link lists. Users can type natural language prompts, refine answers in a chat-like thread, and treat Search as a reasoning engine rather than a simple directory of websites. With these changes, Gemini’s core pitch—ask anything, in any format, and get a tailored explanation—now lives inside Search, right where billions of people already spend their time online.
When Search behaves like Gemini, what makes Gemini special?
Gemini was introduced as Google’s general-purpose AI assistant: a multimodal engine that can read text, watch videos, understand images, and then reason, plan, and generate content across Google Workspace. Until now, that clear positioning helped distinguish Gemini vs Google Search. But Search is inheriting many of those skills. It can answer conversational queries, support follow-up questions, and use AI Overviews and AI Mode to summarise and explain information instead of just listing links. According to Android Authority, Search is now borrowing “agentic coding abilities” from Gemini to build interactive elements from scratch, as well as stateful mini apps for tasks like home makeovers or wedding planning. These are exactly the kinds of persistent, structured workflows that once made Gemini feel unique. As Search learns to understand, create, and manage projects, Gemini’s standalone purpose starts to feel less obvious and more like a duplicated interface.
User confusion: which AI tool should you open first?
For everyday tasks, the overlap in AI search functionality is turning into a practical problem: users now need to decide whether a question belongs in Search or Gemini. Historically, the mental model was simple. You used Search for discovery—finding a brand’s website, checking prices, browsing product options—and Gemini for deeper reasoning, planning, or explanation. With the new unified search box and AI Mode, the boundary is less clear. You can research sneakers, get AI Overviews explaining cushioning tech, ask follow-ups, and set up interactive tools without ever opening Gemini. That convenience is good, but it risks friction of a different kind: extra time spent wondering which tool will respond better before you even type. In a poll cited by Android Authority, 48% of respondents preferred keeping Search and Gemini separate, yet 12% admitted they were not sure what the difference is anymore.
Google is turning Search into the default AI interface
Google’s latest strategy suggests Search is becoming the primary AI interface, even as Gemini continues as its own app, brand, and subscription line. Search is gaining multimodal inputs, generative explanations, coding tools, and mini apps—features that encourage users to stay inside the familiar search box instead of switching contexts. Meanwhile, Gemini Spark, a new cloud-based assistant, can autonomously monitor credit card statements for hidden subscriptions, watch school emails, and stitch notes into Google Docs, while also talking to third-party services like OpenTable and Instacart for real-world tasks. At the same time, Google is reshaping its AI subscriptions with a USD 100 (approx. RM460) mid-range AI Ultra Plan above the USD 20 (approx. RM92) Pro plan, signalling that advanced AI will be a core service tier, not a side experiment. In practice, Search looks positioned as the always-on gateway—and Gemini risks becoming the optional power panel.
The risks of an identity crisis for Gemini
Allowing Search to absorb Gemini-like features may help short-term engagement, but it also risks cannibalising Gemini adoption and weakening Google’s AI branding. If the search box can plan weddings, generate dashboards, and explain complex topics through interactive tools, why would an average user bother learning a separate Gemini interface? One possible answer is focus: Google could let Search specialise in discovery—finding sources, products, and timely information—while Gemini handles planning, execution, and agentic tasks across your personal data and apps. That would preserve clearer roles and reduce the current sprawl of features like AI Overviews and AI Mode inside Search. For now, however, the direction from Google I/O suggests both products are being pushed toward the same destination. Unless Google draws firmer boundaries, Gemini may struggle to justify itself as anything more than Search with a different skin.