Google expands Gemini Enterprise: AI agents get ID cards and rules

Google has expanded Gemini Enterprise, the company's AI platform for businesses. The big news is so-called "long-running agents": AI assistants that can work on multistep tasks over hours or days. Google cites reconciling financial accounts and following up on sales leads as examples.

In short, an agent is an AI program that doesn't just answer a question but carries out a series of actions for you on its own.

New tools for collaboration

The platform gets a number of new features, according to IT Brief's coverage:

- Agent Designer, where users build workflows using plain language or a visual interface. - Projects, a shared workspace for people and agents. - Canvas, an editor where several people can edit at the same time, with export to Microsoft Office. - Inbox, where users can keep track of what the agents are doing. - Data Insights and Deep Research, two agents for data analysis and longer research. - Agent Marketplace for third-party agents.

Control is the real test

The more independently an agent works, the more important it is to be able to control it. Google therefore offers three control tools:

- Agent Identity gives each agent a digital ID. - Agent Registry is a list of approved agents. - Agent Gateway sets rules for network and data access.

According to Google, Agent Gateway is meant to prevent agents from sending data to unapproved addresses and to reduce risks such as prompt injection. That is an attack in which hidden instructions in a text or document trick the AI into doing something it shouldn't.

Google Workspace also has an administrator setting that lets the IT department turn agent access on or off. It can be applied to all agents or to selected ones. By default, access is allowed.

What does it mean for you?

If your workplace uses Google or Microsoft, AI agents could soon show up in your day-to-day work. Whether they turn out to be a help or a risk depends on how the company sets up the rules. It's worth asking the IT department which agents are approved and what data they can see.

Google says the new features will roll out to customers "over the coming months." No exact date has been given.