Put Google's 24/7 AI assistant Gemini Spark to work, and it's actually pretty useful

Google's Gemini Spark is pitched as a 24/7 agentic assistant designed to help users navigate their digital lives without leaving productivity apps. Unveiled at Google's May developer conference, Spark runs on cloud-based virtual machines and is presented as the kind of always-on helper that lets you close your laptop while tasks still run. The assistant is tightly integrated with Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, positioning it as a workflow companion rather than a standalone product. Google has framed Spark as accessible for consumer use, but early demonstrations still lean toward work-adjacent tasks such as organizing schedules and summarizing emails.

In testing, the reviewer found Spark useful for practical tasks like shopping research, where it identified sale items and suggested coupons in the Walgreens app. It showed how to stack discounts to maximize savings and even proposed a weekend plan by drafting a Google Doc with activity ideas aligned to the calendar. While promising, the reviewer notes Spark is not a must-have, emphasizing it still depends on your existing productivity habits and willingness to delegate routine chores to AI.