Agents in Gemini API Now Support Background Tasks & Remote MCP

The update introduces background tasks for hosted agents in the Gemini API, allowing agents to perform time-consuming operations without blocking frontend requests. Remote MCP (Model Context Protocol) support enables agents to invoke toolsets deployed on remote servers, not just local tools. Google has also enhanced reliability with auto-retry and state persistence for production environments. For developers, background tasks enable building long-running automation flows like async message processing or scheduled data analysis without maintaining separate task queues. Remote MCP allows teams to wrap existing internal APIs or database queries as standard tools that agents can dynamically call during conversations. These updates lower the barrier for building complex multi-step agents, especially for enterprise applications requiring frequent external system interactions.