Relay, an AI-powered workflow automation startup, is shutting down in August 2026, with its founder and CEO Jacob Bank returning to Google as VP of Product for Chrome.
Bank announced Monday that Relay will cut off access for paying customers on September 14, 2026. Free-tier users lost access as of August 15. The closure was first announced in July.
Bank founded Relay in 2021 with the goal of competing with workflow automation tools like Zapier. The platform allowed businesses to automate repetitive tasks such as document drafting, copyediting, and project management. Before Relay, Bank spent over six years at Google, where he served as product lead for Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Chat. He originally joined Google in 2015 after the search giant acquired his previous startup, a scheduling app called Timeful.
In his new role, Bank will lead both the product and developer relations teams for Chrome. “I’ve spent my whole career doing one thing: building tools that help people get more done with AI, without sacrificing their personal creativity or insights,” Bank wrote on X. “And joining the Chrome team is an ideal opportunity to bring those experiences to many, many more people.”
Bank added that he sees Chrome as “a perfect place to collaborate with agents” and indicated further AI-related announcements are forthcoming, though specifics were not disclosed.
The move comes as Google continues to deepen AI integration across its products. Gemini has already been built into Google Search and Chrome, where it functions as an optional in-browser assistant. Google recently reported that Gemini has surpassed 1 billion users. Bank’s appointment could signal further expansion of AI capabilities directly within the Chrome browser, potentially affecting how a large share of web users interact with AI tools.
Source: TechCrunch