Google announced during its Google I/O 2025 conference that it is broadening access to Project Mariner, the company’s experimental AI agent designed to browse and interact with websites autonomously. Alongside the wider rollout, Google revealed significant upgrades that allow Project Mariner to handle nearly a dozen tasks simultaneously.
Access and Integration
U.S. subscribers to Google’s $249.99-per-month AI Ultra plan will get early access to Project Mariner, with plans to expand availability to additional countries soon. The company is also integrating Project Mariner’s capabilities into the Gemini API and Vertex AI platforms, enabling developers to build applications powered by this AI agent.
Originally unveiled in late 2024, Project Mariner marks Google’s most ambitious attempt yet to transform how users interact with the internet through AI. Rather than navigating websites themselves, users can delegate tasks to the AI agent. For example, they can purchase baseball tickets or order groceries simply by chatting with the agent, which will visit and operate on third-party sites on their behalf.
Competition and Improvements
Project Mariner enters a competitive field with similar web-browsing AI agents like OpenAI’s Operator, Amazon’s Nova Act, and Anthropic’s Computer Use. While early versions of these agents have been slow and prone to errors, Google has improved Project Mariner based on user feedback. The AI now runs on cloud-based virtual machines, allowing users to multitask while the agent operates in the background. This upgrade boosts productivity by supporting up to 10 simultaneous tasks, unlike earlier versions that limited users to a single browser tab during operation.
In the near future, Project Mariner will be accessible via AI Mode, Google’s AI-powered Search experience, initially through Search Labs, an opt-in testing environment. Google is partnering with companies like Ticketmaster, StubHub, Resy, and Vagaro to enable AI-driven flows for tasks such as ticket booking and reservations.
Additionally, Google revealed “Agent Mode,” a new agentic experience that blends web browsing, research tools, and integrations with other Google apps. This feature will be available soon to Ultra subscribers on desktop.
Google’s release of Project Mariner, Agent Mode, and AI Mode signals a new era for AI agents that could reshape how users navigate the web and how businesses engage customers online. These agents have the potential to significantly influence the internet economy by streamlining tasks and improving user experiences.
What The Author Thinks
Project Mariner and similar AI agents represent a pivotal shift in digital interaction—moving from passive search to proactive task management. While challenges remain in reliability and user trust, the potential benefits of freeing users from repetitive web navigation and empowering developers to create more intelligent applications are immense. As Google rolls out these capabilities, it will be crucial to balance innovation with transparency to ensure users feel confident entrusting AI agents with personal tasks. The evolution of AI agents could well redefine convenience on the internet, but it must be carefully managed to avoid unintended consequences.
Featured image credit: World Economic Forum via Flickr
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