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Google introduces 'AI Mode' for agentic web search experience: How it works
At the keynote session of Google I/O 2025, Google shared details on the evolution of its AI Mode, designed to deliver an agentic web search experience. Initially introduced in March, AI Mode has since been enhanced to offer users faster, more intuitive, and more comprehensive search results. Here are the new updates coming to the AI Mode:
AI Mode: Automating complex search tasks
Google said that the AI Mode represents a significant shift in how web searches are conducted. Instead of requiring users to sift through multiple pages of results, the tool autonomously handles the more tedious aspects of online research.
For complex topics – where standard search methods may prove insufficient – AI Mode acts as a digital agent. It uses a technique called query fan-out, which dissects the user's primary query into smaller, more specific sub-queries. It then conducts multiple searches in parallel, collecting information from a wide range of sources. The system compiles this data into a single, in-depth response, complete with source links for verification.
According to Google, this entire process is completed within seconds, significantly reducing the time and effort typically required to gather relevant and trustworthy information.
AI Mode: Agentic web search rollout
The rollout will initially kick off in the US and support tasks such as buying event tickets, making restaurant reservations, and booking local appointments. Google is partnering with platforms including Ticketmaster, StubHub, Resy, and Vagaro to deliver a seamless, integrated user experience.
What Is Project Mariner
Project Mariner is an experimental initiative built on Google's Gemini 2.0 AI model, aiming to redefine human-computer interaction within web browsers.
According to Google, Project Mariner is designed to understand and interpret on-screen content, including text, images, code, and form elements. It enables the AI to interact meaningfully with websites by processing both visual and structural components, allowing it to complete complex tasks such as filling out forms, navigating UI elements, and compiling personalised search results.
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First Post
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Is the ‘Google tax' era coming to an end?
Is the curtain falling on digital services taxes worldwide? India and now Canada have rolled theirs back amid growing US pressure and global negotiations. With Donald Trump threatening tariffs and the EU standing firm on regulation, a broader tax deal could be looming. Here's everything you need to know about the so-called 'Google tax' read more A wave of policy reversals and trade tensions is challenging the future of national digital services taxes (DSTs) — colloquially known as the 'Google tax.' India having already taken the step is not being followed by Canada who is making significant adjustments to their DST regimes, many in response to pressure from the United States, while transatlantic negotiations over Big Tech regulation and taxation come under the spotlight. When India scrapped its equalisation levy India has officially repealed its 6 per cent equalisation levy on foreign digital advertising services, a tax that had long been a point of contention with the United States. Introduced in 2016, the levy applied to revenue earned by foreign digital platforms from Indian advertisers, including companies like Google and Meta. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The move to eliminate it came as part of amendments to the Finance Bill and took effect on April 1, 2025. The tax was originally designed to ensure that global digital firms profiting from the Indian market without physical presence contributed to the national treasury. However, concerns arose over the increased financial burden it placed on Indian businesses, as global firms passed the cost along to advertisers. Experts also cited complications with compliance and administration for foreign service providers. Critics in the US government described the levy as discriminatory. India's decision to abolish it is widely interpreted as a step to smooth trade relations with Washington, especially after recent tariff-related tensions following policy announcements by US President Donald Trump. Canada cancels its DST just before deadline In a surprise move, Canada rescinded its planned digital services tax on June 29, one day before the first major payment was due. The three per cent levy would have applied retroactively from 2022 to revenue earned by large digital companies from Canadian users. The expected first instalment amounted to nearly US$2 billion collectively for affected firms such as Google, Amazon, Meta, Airbnb and Uber. The tax targeted online marketplaces, advertising platforms, and companies profiting from user data. Only multinational firms earning more than €750 million globally and at least CA$20 million annually from Canadian digital services would have been subject to the levy. Canada's policy was rooted in a belief that foreign digital giants were profiting from local users without paying a fair share of taxes domestically. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Despite years of preparation and parliamentary approval, the tax was abruptly pulled after an escalation in trade rhetoric from the White House. Following a phone call between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump, Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne confirmed the rollback late Sunday evening. The decision came in the wake of Trump's Truth Social announcement suspending trade negotiations with Canada over the tax. The US president claimed Canada was mimicking the European Union and warned of potential new tariffs. Trump 2.0 puts a spotlight on DSTs globally On February 21, 2025, Trump issued a presidential memorandum instructing the US Trade Representative, the Departments of Commerce and Treasury, and other federal entities to examine foreign taxes, penalties and regulatory actions aimed at American digital service companies. The memorandum stated the administration's intent to 'protect American companies and innovators from what the Trump administration considers unfair and discriminatory taxation practices by foreign governments.' It called for comprehensive investigations and potential retaliatory measures such as tariffs. Though the memorandum itself did not introduce new policies, it directed key agencies to assess the DSTs, regulatory fines and laws imposed abroad — specifically singling out the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) for scrutiny. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Trump administration's earlier tenure also saw DSTs challenged under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the US to retaliate against perceived unfair trade practices. At that time, agreements were reached with several countries to avoid tit-for-tat tariffs, but the issue remains unresolved under Trump's current second term. European framework under pressure European countries, meanwhile, continue to implement or expand their own DSTs despite U.S. objections. As of 2024, 18 countries, including France, Austria, India (prior to April 2025), and the United Kingdom, had DSTs in force. These taxes typically apply to companies that exceed specific global and domestic revenue thresholds, targeting services like online ads, platform intermediaries, and monetization of user data. The UK imposes a 2 per cent DST. France and Italy levy a 3 per cent tax. Germany does not have a DST but enforces other tax rules that impact foreign IP transactions involving US multinationals. Italy has further expanded the scope of its DST to capture more revenue from global firms such as Meta, Google, and Amazon. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The proliferation of national-level DSTs in Europe has resulted in an increasingly fragmented and complex tax environment for tech firms. 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Last month, Trump hinted that EU negotiators might be willing to soften enforcement of these laws in exchange for a transatlantic tariff agreement. 'Obviously copying the European Union, which has done the same thing, and is currently under discussion with us,' Trump said, referring to Canada's DST and its similarities to EU digital laws. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Wall Street Journal reported that a draft agreement might allow for a pause in enforcement of the DMA for US firms during ongoing trade discussions. However, this was strongly denied by EU officials. Matthias Jorgensen, the EU's top trade representative to the US, told Members of the European Parliament that 'putting the EU's regulatory autonomy on the table' was 'not an option for us.' At a recent summit in Brussels, EU leaders were also split on whether to accept a US-imposed 10 per cent baseline tariff on exports — potentially in return for certain trade exemptions. In May, the UK agreed to accept the 10 per cent US tariff in exchange for relief on duties covering cars and metals. However, the UK's DST was not part of that trade package. At the recent G7 summit in Canada, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trump committed to resolving their disputes by July 9. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The EU has since received a fresh counterproposal from the US, although its terms remain undisclosed. Also Watch: With inputs from agencies
Time of India
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- Time of India
Mark Zuckerberg sends introductory mail on all the key employees hired for Meta Superintelligence Labs including one of the top-paid
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has now, after weeks of speculation, officially announced the creation of Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL), a sweeping reorganization of the company's artificial intelligence efforts aimed at building "personal superintelligence for everyone." The new division will be led by former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang as chief AI officer, following Meta's $14.3 billion acquisition of his data-labeling startup. "As the pace of AI progress accelerates, developing superintelligence is coming into sight," Zuckerberg wrote in an internal memo obtained by CNBC. "I believe this will be the beginning of a new era for humanity, and I am fully committed to doing what it takes for Meta to lead the way." Former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman will partner with Wang to co-lead MSL, focusing on AI products and applied research. Zuckerberg described Wang as "the most impressive founder of his generation" and praised his "clear sense of the historic importance of superintelligence." The 11 key employees joining Meta's Superintelligence Labs by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Secure Your Child's Future with Strong English Fluency Planet Spark Learn More Undo The announcement comes alongside the hiring of 11 prominent AI researchers from competitors including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind. According to the memo, Meta has been actively recruiting talent as part of its aggressive push to compete with OpenAI and Google in the race for advanced AI systems. Key new hires include: Trapit Bansal - Developed reinforcement learning techniques for reasoning models and contributed to OpenAI's advanced o-series systems Shuchao Bi - Led multimodal training efforts and developed voice capabilities for GPT-4o at OpenAI Huiwen Chang - Architected image generation systems and created breakthrough text-to-image technologies at Google Research Ji Lin - Contributed to multiple flagship models and reasoning architectures across OpenAI's product lineup Joel Pobar - Specialized in AI inference optimization at Anthropic after extensive engineering experience at Meta Jack Rae - Directed pre-training initiatives for Google's Gemini and led early large language model research at DeepMind Hongyu Ren - Led post-training research groups and contributed to numerous breakthrough AI models at OpenAI Johan Schalkwyk - Distinguished Google researcher who helped develop foundational speech and AI technologies Pei Sun - Advanced reasoning and coding capabilities for Gemini while creating autonomous vehicle perception systems at Waymo Jiahui Yu - Directed perception research teams and co-led multimodal AI development across OpenAI and Google Shengjia Zhao - Spearheaded synthetic data initiatives and contributed to foundational conversational AI breakthroughs at OpenAI Zuckerberg aims for AI frontier leadership with his Superintelligence team "Meta is uniquely positioned to deliver superintelligence to the world," Zuckerberg said in the memo. "We have a strong business that supports building out significantly more compute than smaller labs. We have deeper experience building and growing products that reach billions of people." "We're going to start research on our next generation of models to get to the frontier in the next year or so," Zuckerberg stated in the memo. The restructuring consolidates Meta's foundations, product, and FAIR teams under MSL, alongside a new lab focused on developing next-generation AI models. Zuckerberg notes that the company's AI efforts will focus on building systems that are not only human-capable but "personal," deeply integrated into how people interact with technology. The CEO emphasized Meta's structural advantages, writing: "Our company structure allows us to move with vastly greater conviction and boldness. I'm optimistic that this new influx of talent and parallel approach to model development will set us up to deliver on the promise of personal superintelligence for everyone." Meta AI currently serves more than 1 billion monthly active users across the company's platforms, powering what Zuckerberg described as "an increasing number of agents across Meta that help improve our products and technology." He concluded the memo by stating: "We have even more great people at all levels joining this effort in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. I'm excited to dive in and get to work." Meta's aggressive AI expansion includes reported acquisition talks with Perplexity and Runway, plus an expected purchase of voice replication startup PlayAI. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Mint
an hour ago
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