Google pushes AI agents

Google is turning AI agents into a core enterprise product, pitching software that can complete workplace tasks and connect directly to company systems. (reuters.com) At Google Cloud Next in Las Vegas on April 22, Alphabet used its annual cloud conference to center that message for business customers and investors. Reuters reported that Chief Executive Sundar Pichai cast AI agents as a linchpin of Google’s effort to make money from artificial intelligence. (reuters.com) Google’s own conference announcements framed the push as an “agentic enterprise” strategy built around the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. The company said the platform combines models, development tools, and governance features for businesses building agents that can execute workflows. (blog.google) An AI agent is software that does more than answer a prompt once. Google is selling these systems as digital workers that can look up information, take actions in business apps, and hand work from one system to another. (reuters.com) That pitch addresses a problem many companies hit after the first wave of chatbots: models can write text, but they are less useful if they cannot reach the data, permissions, and workflows where work actually happens. Google’s latest products focus on tying models to those internal systems with controls that companies can audit. (reuters.com) One example is Google’s Workspace update, which added new AI features for office software used for email, documents, meetings, and collaboration. Google and outside coverage said the company used Next 2026 to roll out Workspace Intelligence as part of a broader workplace automation push. (blog.google) (crn.com) Another is Google’s partnership with Oracle. Oracle said on April 22 that its new Oracle AI Database Agent for Gemini Enterprise, offered in Google Cloud Marketplace, lets users ask questions about Oracle data in plain language instead of writing database queries. (oracle.com) Google is also emphasizing security as these agents move closer to sensitive records and business processes. Coverage from Next 2026 said Google introduced unique cryptographic identities and traceable authorization policies for agents, alongside broader governance tools for managing large numbers of them. (infosecurity-magazine.com) (theregister.com) The timing reflects a tougher enterprise race in artificial intelligence. Google is trying to win cloud and software spending against Microsoft, Amazon, OpenAI, Anthropic, and database vendors that are all pitching AI systems that can do more than generate text. (reuters.com) (siliconvalley.com) For Google, the bet is that companies will pay not just for smarter models, but for software that can be trusted inside payroll systems, customer records, and internal databases. That is the business case behind this week’s push: turning AI from a demo into enterprise infrastructure. (reuters.com) (blog.google)