I put Google’s 24/7 AI assistant Gemini Spark to work, and it’s actually pretty useful

Google's Gemini Spark is a 24/7 agentic AI assistant that runs in the cloud and integrates with Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Slides to help automate everyday tasks. A hands-on review tests it across several real-world use cases: finding drugstore savings and coupons, building a day-trip packing list, researching local teen summer activities, summarizing newsletters weekly, surfacing weekend events, and tracking price drops. Spark performs reasonably well on most tasks but shows notable gaps — it lacks Google Keep integration, occasionally misinterprets instructions, and returns broken links. The biggest criticism is that Spark exists as a separate branded product within Gemini rather than being a native capability, adding unnecessary complexity for users. MCP integrations are promised for the future but currently absent, limiting Spark's reach beyond Google's own app ecosystem.