Google Expands AI Mode With App Integrations and Brings AI Avatars to Vids

The updates are designed to make Google’s AI assistant more useful for completing everyday tasks instead of simply generating text responses.

AI Mode moves beyond search

Google said AI Mode now supports direct connections with selected services, including Instacart, Canva, and YouTube.

The new capability enables users to complete actions after receiving AI responses. For example, AI Mode can generate a grocery shopping list and send it directly to an Instacart cart or create playlists that are automatically saved to YouTube Music. Canva integration also allows users to generate editable design templates.

The rollout is currently limited to users in the United States, with Google planning to expand support for additional applications.

The feature builds on integrations first demonstrated during Google I/O, where Gemini showcased connections with services such as OpenTable, Spark, Canva, and Instacart.

Vids receives AI-powered avatars

Google also introduced AI-generated avatars to Google Vids, allowing users to create digital versions of themselves using a selfie and voice recording.

The avatars include invisible SynthID watermarking to identify AI-generated content and are currently available only to users aged 18 or older in supported regions.

In addition, Google is bringing its multimodal Gemini Omni model into Vids. The update allows users to generate videos from text prompts and reference images while making step-by-step edits, including changing backgrounds, adjusting lighting, and adding visual effects without recreating an entire project.

The announcements reflect Google’s continued efforts to expand AI across its productivity and creative tools as competition with OpenAI and Anthropic continues to grow.