Google's AI Mode completes hotel bookings inside the conversation
Google is starting to track flight prices and complete hotel payments inside an AI Mode conversation. The same day, Gemini Notebook turned more than 100,000 purchased books into queryable sources, while Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash added first-and-last-frame control to video generation. These products move AI beyond a separate answer box and into users' reading, production and purchasing flows.
Artificial Intelligence··Morning
Travel search reaches checkout
Google's AI Mode can now track flight prices from more than 300 airlines and travel sites, then email the user when a price changes if they choose to wait. Tracking is available in more than 180 countries. For hotels, users can describe their preferences in the conversation, see options and reviews, then choose a room and cancellation terms before paying through Google Pay. English-language hotel booking is rolling out in the US over the coming weeks. The hotel or integrated travel site remains responsible for the booking and customer service.[3]
Purchased books become working sources
Gemini Notebook's Expert Intelligence feature brings a book bought through Google Play Books directly into a notebook. A user can ask questions about the text or generate a plan, infographic or AI-made audio show from it. More than 100,000 books are supported at launch, from publishers including Penguin Random House, Johns Hopkins University Press, Macmillan Publishers and O'Reilly Media. Someone who receives a shared notebook but has not bought the book can see its name as a source, yet cannot access the full text or information drawn from it; the link sends them to the purchase page.[2]
Video generation gains a path between frames
Now generally available, Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash can read up to 10 seconds of an existing video as context when extending a scene, and can grow footage in 10-second steps to a total of 40 seconds. Developers can specify the first and last frame, add up to 3 seconds of video as a style reference and upscale the result to 4K. Google says 360p drafts render up to 60 per cent faster than 720p output and at one third of the cost; this is the company's own measurement. Developers can access the model through Google AI Studio and the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform.[1]
