Search giant introduces autonomous restaurant booking through AI Mode in 180 countries, with event tickets and service appointments coming soon.
Google announced Thursday a massive global expansion of its AI Mode search feature to 180 additional countries and territories, while introducing new agentic capabilities that can autonomously handle tasks like restaurant reservations, marking a significant evolution from information retrieval to task execution.
The expansion brings Google's most advanced AI search experience, previously limited to the United States, United Kingdom, and India, to users worldwide in English, with plans to add more languages and regions soon. The rollout coincides with the introduction of features that transform AI Mode from a sophisticated question-answering tool into an active assistant capable of completing real-world tasks.
From Search to Action: The Agentic Evolution
The centerpiece of the update is AI Mode's new ability to find and facilitate restaurant reservations based on complex, multi-constraint queries. Users can specify party size, date, time, location, and cuisine preferences in natural language, and AI Mode will search across multiple reservation platforms to find real-time availability.
"Searching across multiple reservation platforms and websites, it will find real-time availability for restaurants that meet your specific needs — and then present you with a curated list of restaurants with available reservation slots to choose from," Google explained in its announcement. The system then links users directly to booking pages to complete their reservations.
This agentic capability, initially available to Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. through the "Agentic capabilities in AI Mode" experiment in Labs, represents a fundamental shift in how search engines operate. The $249.99-per-month Ultra subscription is Google's highest-tier offering, positioning these features as premium services for early adopters.
Powered by Project Mariner and Strategic Partnerships
Under the hood, AI Mode leverages the live web browsing capabilities of Project Mariner, Google's AI agent technology unveiled at I/O 2025, along with direct partner integrations and resources from Google's Knowledge Graph and Maps database.
Google has partnered with major reservation platforms, including OpenTable, Resy, and Tock for restaurant bookings, with plans to expand to event ticketing through partnerships with Ticketmaster, StubHub, and SeatGeek. Local service appointments via partners like Booksy are also on the roadmap.
"We're starting to roll out today with finding restaurant reservations, and expanding soon to local service appointments and event tickets," the company stated, signaling ambitions that extend well beyond dining.
For U.S. users who opt into the AI Mode experiment in Labs, Google is introducing personalized recommendations that draw on previous conversations and interactions with Search and Maps. The system can infer preferences such as a preference for Italian cuisine or outdoor seating to deliver more relevant suggestions.
"Say you search, 'I only have an hour, need a quick lunch spot, any suggestions?' AI Mode can use your previous conversations, along with places you've searched for or tapped on in Search and Maps to deliver more relevant options, personalized to you," Google explained.
The company emphasized that users maintain control over their data, with the ability to adjust personalization settings in their Google Account at any time. This feature initially focuses on dining-related topics but signals broader personalization capabilities ahead.
The expansion reflects Google's vision of search as an active agent in users' lives, not just a passive information source. It could be a transformation that could redefine how billions interact with digital services.
