The era of “AI Chatbots” is over. The era of AI Agents has begun. Google has just dropped a massive disruption into the coding world with the public preview of Google Antigravity IDE, a heavily modified fork of Visual Studio Code designed not just to help you write code, but to be your development team.
While tools like Cursor and Windsurf have dominated the “AI Editor” market, Google’s entry is different. It focuses entirely on multi-agent orchestration—keeping a manager, a coder, and a tester working in parallel on your project.
In this review, we’ll strip away the hype and test if Antigravity is ready to replace your daily driver.
What is Google Antigravity IDE?
Google Antigravity is an AI-native integrated development environment (IDE) built on the foundation of VS Code. Unlike standard copilot plugins that suggest code line-by-line, Antigravity introduces an “Agent-First” paradigm.
It creates a workspace where autonomous agents can:
- Plan complex features before coding.
- Execute terminal commands and file edits across multiple files.
- Verify their own work using a built-in browser agent.
Key Features Breakdown
1. The Agent Manager (Mission Control)
This is the killer feature. Instead of a single chat window, you get a “Manager View.” Here, you define a high-level goal (e.g., “Refactor the authentication system”), and the Agent Manager spawns specialized sub-agents to handle different parts of the task in parallel.
2. Built-in Browser Agent
Most AI coding tools write code but can’t see the result. Antigravity includes a headless browser agent that can run your app, take screenshots, and verify the UI matches the design. This loop of Code -> Run -> Verify -> Fix is a game-changer for frontend developers.
3. Artifacts & Evidence
Trust is the biggest issue with AI coding. Antigravity agents generate “Artifacts”—markdown files, diagrams, and diffs—that explain exactly what they did and why. It feels less like magic and more like a pull request description.
Google Antigravity vs. Cursor vs. Windsurf
How does it stack up against the reigning champions? Here is the breakdown for February 2026.
| Feature | Google Antigravity 🥇 | Cursor 🥈 | Windsurf 🥉 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Philosophy | Agent Orchestration (Manage a team) | Dev Flow (Super-powered autocomplete) | Enterprise (Deep context for huge repos) |
| Best For | Reviewing/Refactoring complex apps | Daily coding & speed | Large corporate monorepos |
| Price | Free (Preview) / ~$20 Pro | $20/month | $15/month |
| Key Model | Gemini 3 Deep Think | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | GPT-5.3 & Cascade |
Pros and Cons
- It’s Free (For Now): Unbeatable value vs Cursor’s /mo.
- Parallel Agents: Can fix bugs while you write new features.
- Browser Testing: It actually sees what it built.
- VS Code Foundation: All your extensions still work.
- Slow: Deep reasoning takes time; not for quick edits.
- Complex UI: The “Manager View” has a learning curve.
- Privacy: Deep Google Cloud integration might worry some.
Final Verdict: Should You Switch?
If you are a frontend developer or an architect who wants to delegate entire tasks, Google Antigravity is a must-try. The ability to verify UI changes automatically puts it ahead of the pack for web apps.
However, if you just want really fast autocomplete and minor refactoring, Cursor is still the snappiest experience.
Download Google Antigravity (Free) →
