Google's AI Mode now lets users link and interact with select apps

Google announced on Thursday that AI Mode, its conversational search experience, now lets users link and interact with some of the apps they already use, starting with Instacart, Canva, and YouTube. The update pushes AI Mode beyond answering questions and into completing tasks inside those apps directly from a conversation.

Google is likely hoping the change will make users lean on AI Mode more often for tasks like planning and shopping, and the rollout also positions the company to better compete with rivals such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude, both of which already support similar app integrations. Google’s own examples show the range: connecting an Instacart account lets AI Mode add ingredients from a barbecue grocery list straight to a shopping cart for checkout on Instacart’s app or site; connecting Canva surfaces a selection of templates for a project like a flyer; and connecting YouTube lets a curated playlist be saved instantly to YouTube Music.

The update is rolling out to users in the U.S., and Google says it is working with a range of partners and plans to launch support for more apps soon. It builds on a capability Google launched earlier this year at Google I/O that let users connect third-party apps — including Canva, OpenTable, Spark, and Instacart, among others — to the Gemini app to complete tasks faster.

AI Mode itself launched in early 2025, and Google has kept adding to it since: most recently, a feature that checks whether a needed item is in stock at a nearby store, plus the ability to explore the web side-by-side with AI Mode to compare details and ask follow-up questions while keeping search context. Earlier this year, Google also launched “Personal Intelligence” on AI Mode, letting it draw on a user’s Gmail and Google Photos for more individualized responses.

Why it matters

By wiring AI Mode directly into everyday apps, Google is betting that conversational search becomes a place where tasks get finished, not just researched — a bet it’s making at the same time OpenAI and Anthropic push their own assistants toward the same app-integration model.