Google's $250 AI agent can only help you book restaurant reservations

But the free AI Mode itself can now take your history into account

The all-AI search mode Google introduced earlier this year has sprouted a one-trick AI agent – but only those willing to pay top dollar for the privilege.

Given that Google, like much of the AI world, has leapt onto AI agents as the next big thing in the AI space, it's no surprise that its latest AI Mode for search announcement would involve adding agentic AI. 

AI Mode for search, which essentially allows Gemini to serve as the sifter of SERPs instead of the old-fashioned Google algorithm, became an opt-in preview feature in March before rolling out as an option to general Google users in May. For those who haven't deigned to use it, AI Mode basically turns the Google search page into a chat window where users can ask typical queries and get results delivered from a Gemini-powered chatbot that one has to assume isn't bullshitting them, or spend time checking its citations. 

Now, with agents in AI Mode, one can let an ostensibly smart bot digest their requests, though only in incredibly limited circumstances for now. According to Google, the AI Mode agent can currently do one thing: help users find restaurant reservations. 

And while Google's news of the AI Mode agent released on Thursday makes it seem like there's a high degree of customization in what it can do, that's sadly not the case - there's lots of new data accessible to Gemini in AI mode, but those customization features don't carry over to the new AI agent.

Every AI Mode user who has opted into the experiment will begin to see highly-tailored results in AI mode, Google explained in its press release.

Google takes a whole slew of personal data, like previous AI conversations, searches, or links selected in Search or Maps, and infers a preference for a particular food and indoor or outdoor seating. If a user tells AI Mode that they only have an hour and need a quick meal, that will be accounted for too, said Google. 

A Google spokesperson confirmed to The Register that those customization features don't apply to the new AI Mode agent, which currently has no personalization features, rendering it far less useful than what the regular AI Mode can do when it comes to understanding its user.

To be fair, AI Mode agents can "find real-time availability for restaurants," Google noted, and it even "does the legwork and links you directly to the booking page" while leaving the final few steps up to the user.  So, unlike the AI mode itself, the agent can take you to the booking stage, but it's not going to take anything about you into account.

Google said that it's been working with partners like OpenTable, Resy, and Tock to integrate restaurant information. Future agentic capabilities will include local service appointments and event tickets, which Google said will be provided with the help of Ticketmaster, StubHub, SeatGeek, and Booksy. It's not clear when those future agentic capabilities will be released. 

It's also not clear, for that matter, when the greater public will have a chance to fiddle with AI Mode agents, as the new capabilities are... ahem... Ultra exclusive, by which we mean reserved for those who've opted to pay $250 a month for Google AI Ultra.

Part of the reason for that exclusivity is Google's Project Mariner, a Gemini 2.0 agent system that uses Chrome to perform tasks autonomously. Access to Mariner-powered AI Mode agents is limited to AI Ultra subscribers. Beyond the agent preview, Ultra also includes perks over the $20/month AI Pro tier such as a bundled YouTube Premium subscription, significantly more Google Drive storage, and priority access to Google's most capable Gemini models.

Google also took the opportunity on Thursday to announce an expansion of AI Mode for Search to more than 180 countries, though it's only available in English, as well as new sharing features that allow users to hand off an AI Mode conversation to anyone with a link to it. The new agentic, personalization, and sharing features in AI Mode are only available in the United States. ®