Google Expands AI Web Agent Project Mariner
Google announced at Google I/O 2025 the expansion of Project Mariner, its experimental AI agent designed to browse and interact with websites. More users and developers will now have access to this innovative technology.
U.S. subscribers to Google's $249.99 per month AI Ultra plan will receive access to Project Mariner, with support for more countries coming soon. Google is also integrating Project Mariner's capabilities into the Gemini API and Vertex AI, empowering developers to create applications powered by the AI agent.
Project Mariner: Reshaping Online Interactions
Unveiled in late 2024, Project Mariner represents Google's ambitious effort to transform how users interact with the internet. Instead of manually visiting websites, users can delegate tasks to the AI agent.
For example, users can purchase baseball tickets or groceries online simply by chatting with Google's AI agent. The agent then visits the relevant websites and completes the tasks on the user's behalf.
Project Mariner competes with other experimental web-browsing AI agents like OpenAI's Operator, Amazon's Nova Act, and Anthropic's Computer Use.
Improved Performance and Multitasking
Based on early user feedback, Google has significantly improved Project Mariner's capabilities. The agent now runs on virtual machines in the cloud, allowing it to handle up to 10 tasks simultaneously in the background. This cloud-based approach addresses previous limitations where users couldn't use other applications while the agent was working.
Integration with Google Search and Agent Mode
In the near future, Project Mariner will be accessible within AI Mode, Google's AI-powered Search experience, initially available through Search Labs. Google is collaborating with companies like Ticketmaster, StubHub, Resy, and Vagaro to enhance these agentic flows.
Google also previewed "Agent Mode," a new feature combining web browsing with research capabilities and integration with other Google apps. AI Ultra subscribers will soon gain access to Agent Mode on desktop.
With Project Mariner, Agent Mode, and AI Mode, Google is actively shaping the future of online navigation and vendor-customer interactions. These web-browsing agents have significant implications for the internet economy, and Google is committed to their development and deployment.
