At Google Cloud, our commitment to Vertex AI Agent Builder continues with significant enhancements aimed at streamlining the development and management of AI agents. The integration of the Cloud API Registry empowers administrators to govern developer tool access directly from the Vertex AI Agent Builder Console, ensuring that agents can utilize essential tools while maintaining data security and operational integrity.

One tangible application is the new support for Google services such as BigQuery and Google Maps, which enable developers to leverage pre-built tools efficiently. This integration allows organizations to manage their API assets through Apigee, fostering a seamless and secure tool access for agent developers. The enhanced tool governance ensures that developers can focus on creating without redundant efforts, thus expediting the agent development process.

Recent updates also introduce Gemini 3 Pro, our advanced model now fully compatible with the Agent Development Kit (ADK). This allows for the swift creation, testing, and deployment of sophisticated AI agents. Innovations like improved state management within ADK make it easier to maintain context across conversations, recover from errors, and facilitate user-agent interactions.

Organizations like Burns & McDonnell and Payhawk demonstrate the real-world impact of these advancements. Burns & McDonnell utilizes Vertex AI to turn extensive project data into actionable insights, while Payhawk’s Financial Controller Agent now intelligently remembers user preferences, reducing task completion times significantly.

With continuous enhancements to the Agent Engine, including memory management capabilities, companies can scale their agents effectively, providing personalized interactions at scale. Vertex AI Agent Builder is thus a powerful tool for bridging the gap from concept to production, enabling businesses to deploy AI-driven solutions with confidence and efficiency.

As 2025 approaches its end, the landscape of cybersecurity across EMEA has transformed, primarily driven by the rapid advancement of AI. This year has seen AI emerge not only as an enabler of innovation but also as a tool utilized by cyber adversaries, reshaping the very essence of how we protect our digital world.

One vital trend has been the widespread adoption of Zero Trust Access and Security-First Identity. Organizations are increasingly verifying every user and device, regardless of location, ensuring robust security as hybrid work and cloud services flourish. This shift prioritizes identity management, allowing businesses to protect data effectively at all interaction points.

Additionally, the implementation of Network Micro/Macro Segmentation has become essential. By dividing networks into isolated segments, organizations can limit the impact of potential breaches and safeguard critical assets from unauthorized access. This proactive strategy enhances resilience against internal and external threats.

The third focal point is Vendor Consolidation & Strategic Partnerships. EMEA leaders are unifying their security tools through integrated platform solutions, optimizing management, and reducing operational overhead. Collaborations with security vendors allow businesses to create comprehensive security architectures, making them more efficient in their defense strategies.

AI's influence has manifested through tools like the Cisco Secure Firewall, recognized as the Best Enterprise Next Generation Firewall of 2025. Its advanced capabilities have demonstrated unparalleled accuracy in threat detection and response, providing organizations with essential perimeter security.

Moreover, the rise of AI-driven security agents marks a significant evolution. These agents transition from mere threat detection to proactive threat anticipation, enabling organizations to make autonomous security decisions, thereby enhancing overall security postures across the region.

A vital aspect of these advancements is the investment in talent development. The Cisco Networking Academy has expanded its curriculum in AI and digital skills, fostering a more skilled, local workforce capable of managing AI-powered cybersecurity.

As we move into 2026, the focus will remain on leveraging AI for security operations, enhancing regional resilience, and investing in local talent—all while fostering trust as the foundation of digital transformation.

Ohio is actively integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its governmental operations to enhance efficiency and streamline services for both businesses and voters, as emphasized by Secretary of State Frank LaRose. Recognizing the potential of AI, Ohio has developed a responsible AI policy to guide its implementation, ensuring that leaders at all levels can adopt these technologies effectively.

A standout initiative is EVA, the Elections Virtual Assistant. This AI-driven tool provides county election officials with immediate access to accurate procedural and legal information, significantly reducing the time spent on tedious research. By delivering answers in seconds instead of hours, EVA not only saves manpower but also enhances confidence in the electoral process.

Additionally, Ohio is leveraging AI for training purposes across its 88 counties. The AI-enhanced training platform standardizes instruction on complex election rules and deadlines, enabling smaller counties to operate with the same level of expertise as larger counterparts. This fosters equality in election management statewide.

AI also contributes to 24/7 support for election officials, allowing them to resolve issues outside regular business hours. This constant availability minimizes repetitive inquiries to state staff, allowing them to concentrate on vital tasks like improving cybersecurity.

Moreover, AI aids in cybersecurity by analyzing workflows to pinpoint compliance issues, thus strengthening the defense of sensitive systems. For the public, AI enables quicker and more consistent communication, enhancing the reliability of information received by voters amidst the challenges of misinformation.

The integration of AI in Ohio's governance not only improves service delivery but also frees human resources to focus on critical decision-making, leading to faster, error-free responses that benefit communities.

Agentic AI systems are moving beyond digital confines into the physical realm, enabling AI agents to perceive, reason, and act in real-world environments. As we integrate these capabilities through robotics, autonomous vehicles, and smart infrastructures, a key challenge is how to balance cloud computing for complex reasoning with the need for rapid real-time responses in physical actions.

Recent advancements at AWS have set the stage for transformative physical AI applications. The launch of Strands Agents in 2025 has simplified the development process for AI agents, introducing features such as multi-agent orchestration and Amazon Bedrock AgentCore to accelerate production. Notably, AI agents are now controller for varied robots via a unified interface, such as a 3D printed robotic arm that successfully executes tasks like picking and placing objects by processing linguistic commands using sophisticated vision-language-action models. Similarly, Boston Dynamics’ Spot quadruped autonomously inspects its sensors by reasoning about its physical environment.

The hybrid architecture of edge and cloud technologies enhances performance; real-time responses are managed on-device, while extensive data analysis and learning processes are performed in the cloud. This symbiotic relationship allows for fleet-wide knowledge sharing and continuous improvement in tasks, exemplified by robots learning from shared experiences to optimize their functions collectively.

Applications extend to autonomous vehicles, which utilize cloud intelligence for route optimization while ensuring immediate obstacle avoidance on the edge. The integration of AI agents with robust feedback loops—observations from real-world deployments refine models which then improve the entire robotic fleet—represents a significant leap in operational efficiency.

As AWS aims to make AI agent development more accessible, the potential for intelligent systems that learn and adapt in real-time anticipates a vibrant future for physical AI technology.