Google Cloud Next 26: a managed Looker MCP server and Knowledge Catalog
At Next 26, Google put a managed Looker MCP server and Knowledge Catalog integration into preview, announced BigQuery Graph and measures, and previewed an agent that drafts LookML.
Google Cloud Next 26 ran this week. The data announcements center on making business definitions reachable by agents outside Google's own tools.
What was announced
- Managed Looker MCP server, in preview, plus MCP Toolbox support, so outside agents can query through the Looker model instead of around it.
- Knowledge Catalog integration, in preview. Knowledge Catalog turns metadata into a connected graph of business terms and data assets.
- BigQuery Graph and BigQuery measures were announced. Google did not state a release stage for either.
- A LookML agent, in preview, drafts Looker models.
- Embedded conversational experiences in Looker are generally available.
Why it matters
The managed MCP server is the key item. A company's definitions are worth much more when any agent can use them, not just the one built into the BI tool. Google is betting that its semantic model becomes the shared source agents reach for.
Two things to watch. First, a graph of metadata is not the same as a model of the business; it connects assets, but it does not by itself say which rules apply to them. Second, an agent that drafts models is only useful if the people who own the definitions review what it drafts. Speed of drafting is not the bottleneck. Agreement is.