Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- PCWorld reports that Google unveiled Spark, a new Gemini-powered AI assistant that requires a $100 monthly Google AI Ultra subscription for access.
- This cloud-based agent operates 24/7 to manage digital tasks across Google services like Gmail and Docs, plus third-party apps including Adobe and Spotify.
- Spark can perform complex functions like drafting emails and creating study guides, with a new Android Halo interface launching later this year to monitor its activities.
As predicted, Google has unveiled a Gemini-powered personal AI assistant that will work tirelessly in the cloud, and now we have a name for it—and no, it won’t come cheap.
Previous chatter had the Gemini personal AI agent going by the internal moniker of “Remy,” but during Google’s big I/O reveal on Tuesday, we got the assistant’s final name: Spark.
Rolling out “deliberately” to “trusted testers” this week, with a wider release to Google AI Ultra subscribers next week, Spark is a 24/7 cloud-based AI agent that “navigates across your digital life.”
During a pre-brief session, Google reps described how Spark will connect to all your core Google services and documents, including Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Give Spark a complex task and it will set off on its own to complete it, spawning sub-agents to tackle different aspects of its assignment as needed, according to Google. (Google hasn’t yet fully detailed how Spark’s permissions and approval controls will work.)
The examples of tasks that Spark could perform include checking your inbox for messages from clients or customers, building student study guides that update themselves automatically as new assignments come in, and writing email drafts based on data from Gmail, Google Docs, and other documents in your Google account.
Aside from its access to Google services, Spark will be getting a “whole set” of MCP (Model Context Protocol) connectors for third-party service providers, including Adobe, Asana, Box, Canva, Dropbox, HubSpot, Intuit, Monday, Pandora, Spotify, and Wix. That means Spark will eventually be able to access your Dropbox, check the status of Monday projects, or lend a hand with your Canva creations.
Spark will live in the cloud rather than on your desktop PC, similar to Claude Cowork. That means Spark won’t be able to directly access files on your system, but it also means you won’t have to worry about Spark poking into personal or sensitive documents (like bank statements) in your various local directories.
As with other personal AI agents we’ve seen, you’ll be able to communicate with Spark via text and email, meaning you won’t need to fire up an app to check in with the assistant. You could also include Spark in text chains or CC it on email threads.
Along with Spark comes a revamp of Google’s pricier AI Ultra plan, which will now start at $100 per month with a “top tier” capping out at $200 per month (down from the previous single-tier $250 AI Ultra rate). The bottom line, though, is that you’ll need to cough up at least $100 monthly to have Spark at your side. (Sorry, AI Pro users.)
After Spark’s initial launch, Google plans to roll out a new UI space called Android Halo that’ll let you view live updates on Spark’s progress across its various tasks. Look for Android Halo to arrive “later this year.”