Google has introduced Agent Compute Engine, a service that gives AI agents isolated computing environments for running code and tools. The company also says it is extending Gemini for business governance across more places where agents run, including other clouds and managed devices.
Agent Compute Engine already powers Gemini agents used for work tasks, according to Google. Each agent runs in a hardware-isolated microVM with its own identity and short-lived credentials. The service can pause an idle microVM and resume it when the agent needs to work again. Each microVM also has a Hyperdisk to retain its workspace and context across sessions.
Agent Substrate runs on Kubernetes
Google also described Agent Substrate, an open-source runtime for teams using Kubernetes. It snapshots an idle agent’s memory so the machine can be used elsewhere, then resumes the agent when needed. Google says it can run on any Kubernetes cluster and work with any agent framework or harness.
In a benchmark with 200,000 agents, Google says Agent Substrate sustained 500 activations per second, with suspend and resume latency below 500 milliseconds. The company says teams can try it on Google Kubernetes Engine today through its open-source repository.
Governance reaches more agent runtimes
Google says its Gemini for business governance capabilities now extend across several Google Cloud runtimes, including Cloud Run, Google Kubernetes Engine and Agent Compute Engine. The tools cover agent identity, policies, a registry of approved resources and records of agent activity.
The company plans lightweight policy enforcement for agents in other clouds and hybrid environments, along with controls for local coding agents on managed devices. Both are due in preview soon. It also says Agent Gateway will gain token and cost controls, model routing policies and more ways to connect custom services. Those Gateway additions are expected in preview this quarter.
Agent Compute Engine is expected to become available in preview in the coming months, while Agent Substrate is available to try on Google Kubernetes Engine today.
