# Gemini app has more than doubled in a year, jumping from 400 million to over 900 million monthly active users.

*genai · news · 2026-05-19 · PhoneArena*

## Key points

- Gemini Spark is a new AI agent that operates continuously via Google Cloud, even when offline.
- Gemini 3.5 Flash launches today, running four times faster at less than half the cost of prior models.
- Docs Live introduces voice-first document drafting, with Gmail and Keep gaining voice features next.
- Trusted testers access Spark agent this week, with a public beta for AI Ultra subscribers next week.
- Google's SynthID watermark technology is now being adopted by OpenAI, Kakao, and Eleven Labs.

Once again, the way we use Gemini is about to fundamentally change, and Google shows no signs of slowing this down. At I/O 2026, Sundar Pichai walked through a wave of updates that all point to one idea: AI is no longer something you actively open, it is something that runs in the background and gets things done for you. Google is officially in its agentic Gemini era The growth numbers explain why this matters. The Gemini app has more than doubled in a year, jumping from 400 million to over 900 million monthly active users, and over 50 billion images have been generated with Nano Banana. That said, the headline shift is agents. Here is what Google announced. Gemini Spark is your new 24/7 personal agent Spark is the headliner. It is a personal AI agent inside the Gemini app that runs on dedicated Google Cloud virtual machines, which means it keeps working when your laptop is closed and you are asleep. Recommended For You Gemini Spark. | Video by Google It handles long-horizon tasks like research, planning, and follow-through. Spark integrates with Google's own tools at launch, with third-party support through MCP rolling out soon, and later this summer it moves into Chrome as an agentic browser. Trusted testers get it this week, with the beta opening to Google AI Ultra subscribers in the US next week. Docs Live is the voice-first counterpart, letting you "brain dump" verbally while Gemini structures the document. Both arrive this summer, with Gmail and Keep getting voice powers next. Docs Live. | Video by Google New models powering everything Gemini 3.5 Flash is rolling out today across all Google products and APIs, running four times faster than other frontier models at less than half the cost. Gemini 3.5 Pro arrives next month. Gemini Omni Flash also debuted today, with a full breakdown of Google's new video-generation model available in our deeper coverage. Gemini Omni Flash. | Video by Google Creative tools, eyewear, and SynthID Google Flow has a new agent for brainstorming and editing, plus the ability to "vibe code" custom creative tools inside it. Google Pics, a new Nano Banana-powered image editor, treats every element as an independent object instead of a flat layer. Google also teased its intelligent eyewear lineup again, with audio glasses launching first this fall. And SynthID is expanding, with OpenAI, Kakao, and Eleven Labs all adopting Google's invisible watermark. My honest take Spark feels like the moment AI stops being a tool you open and starts being a layer that runs alongside your life. The upside is obvious, less busywork, more time for the stuff that matters. The questions are about trust and control, especially as MCP integrations roll out and these agents start acting on your behalf with more independence. If you want more hot takes, opinion pieces, and behind-the-scenes coverage, follow me on X and Threads.

**Companies:** Google, OpenAI, Kakao, Eleven Labs
**Countries:** United States

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