Google I/O produced a week of coverage on how AI will change the search experience. Most of it focused on consumer features, with less attention paid to a pattern that’s emerging for businesses. Many of the highest-profile consumer demos at I/O take the user from search to action, with Google carrying more of the journey in between. While this was a recurring theme throughout I/O, the infrastructure behind those demos was rolling out for months before the keynote. Last week’s deep dive argued that the real risk from I/O was more economic than technical. This piece looks at where that economic risk is concentrated and why the business playbook hasn’t caught up with the consumer experience Google showed on stage. What Google Showed Google’s I/O demos included Universal Cart , agentic booking for local services, and information agents that monitor listings or products in the background. Universal Cart lets you add products into a single cart that persists across Google surfaces.…