Google shuts down Project Mariner

The Project Mariner experiment lives on in Gemini Agent and AI Mode.

by Emma Roth

Image: Google Emma Roth is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.

Google has pulled the plug on Project Mariner, an experimental feature designed to perform tasks for you across the web, as reported earlier by _Wired_’s Maxwell Zeff. The Project Mariner landing page now contains a message that says: “Thank you for using Project Mariner. It was shut down on May 4th, 2026 and its technology voyaged to other Google products.”

Google first revealed Project Mariner in December 2024 and later announced an update allowing it to perform up to 10 tasks at a time. Over the past year, Google has integrated features powered by Project Mariner into its other AI tools, including Gemini Agent, which can do things like archive emails on your behalf or help you book a hotel. Google also folded Project Mariner’s agentic capabilities into its AI-powered search feature, AI Mode. Screenshot: The Verge

Earlier this year, Google showed off a new AI-powered feature, called “auto-browse,” that can perform multi-step tasks in Chrome, like researching flight costs. Though Google doesn’t say whether it’s powered by Project Mariner, it seems like a response to the agentic web browsing tools offered by OpenAI, Perplexity, and OpenClaw.

With the removal of Project Mariner, Google may be making room for the other AI features that could make their debut during this year’s I/O, which starts on May 19th. Google didn’t immediately respond to _The Verge_’s request for comment.

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