Google has scheduled Google I/O 2026 for May 19-20 and is making AI the headline from the start. The company’s save-the-date messages put Gemini front and center, citing Android, Chrome and Google Cloud as the key locations where these updates should land.
If you look at the Google I/O 2026 AI announcements as a guide for product selection, the real news is in the frame. Google doesn’t view AI as a side issue, instead positioning model upgrades and developer tools as the thread that connects the rest of the platform’s story. That should impact how you budget your attention when the schedule drops.
Google also confirmed the basics: The event will take place at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, online viewing is available, and registration is open. What’s missing are the things the developers are actually planning, session titles, talk tracks, workshop details, and any clarity about limits on in-person attendance.
Gemini are the early traitors
The first indications from Google are blunt. It’s about AI updates alongside Gemini and then immediately links them to the surfaces on which apps are shipped and scaled. Expect the keynotes to set the tone and then the sessions to explain what’s new in the tools and SDKs and how AI capabilities can be integrated into existing workflows where the useful details are usually hidden.
Google’s developer channels also leaned on the I/O “solution” and praised community builds and remixes. That’s a small signal, but it suggests that Google wants to experiment ahead of the main event and not just passive viewing. It also suggests that hands-on demos, templates and guided builds may have more emphasis this year.
What to do before May?
Register now and treat the event page like a feed. The interactive I/O puzzle built with Gemini is worth a look, as it signals the kind of developer experiences Google wants users to try out. When session lists appear, prioritize talks that sound like implementation, APIs, evaluation, security, deployment, and monitoring. These are the sessions that turn broad AI conversations into shipping plans.
