Google has announced that its AI Mode conversational search tool can now connect directly to select third-party apps, letting users complete tasks rather than just get answers. At launch, supported apps include Instacart, Canva and YouTube, with the update rolling out to users in the United States as Google works with more partners to add further app integrations soon.

The move lets AI Mode users, for example, add ingredients from a grocery list straight to an Instacart shopping cart, browse Canva templates for a design project, or save a curated playlist directly to YouTube Music. It builds on a similar app-linking feature Google introduced for its Gemini app at I/O earlier this year, and follows other recent AI Mode additions such as store stock checks, side-by-side web browsing, and "Personal Intelligence", which draws on users' Gmail and Google Photos data. The expansion is widely seen as an attempt to keep AI Mode competitive with rival assistants like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude, which already offer app integrations.