What Was Announced
On March 10, 2026, Google announced two new features for the Gemini Code Assist extensions in IntelliJ IDEA and Visual Studio Code: Finish Changes and Outlines. The update also brought Next Edit Predictions into public preview, confirmed GA status for Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash across all user tiers, and expanded Agent Mode capabilities.
Key Features and Changes
Finish Changes
Finish Changes is designed to eliminate the context-switch to a chat interface for completing in-progress code modifications. As you edit — even if your code is partial, uses pseudocode, or has inline comments describing intent — Gemini 3.0 observes what you are doing and offers to complete the task using your holistic intent rather than just the immediate cursor position.
This is subtly different from standard autocomplete: it understands the direction of your change across multiple lines, not just the next token. For example, if you are refactoring a method to use a builder pattern and have changed the first two lines, Finish Changes can complete the remaining lines in the same style without a chat prompt.
Outlines
Outlines automatically generates a structured summary of any code file — classes, methods, their responsibilities, and how they relate to each other — displayed as a sidebar panel. The target audience is developers who are new to a codebase or revisiting code they have not touched in months. Instead of manually reading and tracing logic, Outlines surfaces the key structure immediately.
For large files with complex inheritance hierarchies or many private helper methods, this can significantly reduce ramp-up time.
Next Edit Predictions (Preview)
Next Edit Predictions suggests what code change you are likely to make next, based on your current edit and the surrounding context. It differs from autocomplete by being forward-looking across a broader scope — anticipating, for example, that after updating a method signature you will also need to update its call sites. Available in preview for both IntelliJ and VS Code.
Agent Mode with Auto Approve
Gemini Code Assist's Agent Mode can now execute multi-step coding tasks after a single upfront approval. The agent proposes a plan, you approve it, and it executes — making it practical for longer tasks like "add pagination to all these REST endpoints" without requiring step-by-step confirmation.
Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash GA
Gemini 2.5 Pro and Gemini 2.5 Flash are now generally available and are used across all Gemini Code Assist user tiers for chat, code generation, and transformation tasks.
Why It Matters for Developers
Finish Changes addresses one of the most common friction points in AI-assisted coding: the need to describe what you are already in the middle of doing. Most AI chat tools require you to step back and explain your intent in text, interrupting flow. Finish Changes keeps you in the editor.
For teams onboarding new members or doing regular code reviews, Outlines provides value beyond the individual developer — shared understanding of a module's structure becomes faster to establish.
Source
Read the original article — Google Developers Blog
