Google spent a lot of time during its I/O developer event this morning talking about artificial intelligence. It seems there’s not a single part of its business it’s not going to be using AI to power, this includes Search.
Although not live yet, we can look forward to getting an AI-powered snapshot of a question we Google. It builds on Google’s ranking and safety systems, picking up what it deems the most trustworthy and serving those up to you in the top section. It’s called Generative AI.
These AI-generated summaries appear at the top of a page on the browser version of Google Search, while a set of links relating to the AI-generated text appear on the right.
From here, you can click to expand that view, where each line of text gets its own set of links exploring the topic in greater detail. Google wants this to behave like a “jumping off point” for users and their searches while still giving them access to official sources as well as users’ blogs.
AI to ‘chat’ with Google Search
This jumping off point will take a question you ask and serve you an answer, even if your question is long and previously not easily answered without breaking it down. The AI will break down the question and answer all of it.
As you can see in the screenshot above, you’ll see an AI-powered snapshot of key information to consider, with links to dig deeper. This, as we noted above, will be built out using real websites and articles/blogs.
You’ll also get the option to ask follow up questions. This is called Conversational Mode. With the idea that you can keep talking to Search, it’ll know that you are continuing your convo, not starting a new query. Basically, the idea is to chat with Search the way you would a friend – this isn’t a surprise, it’s something the company has been working on with its Google Assistant for a number of years.
“Context will be carried over from question to question, to help you more naturally continue your exploration. You’ll also find helpful jumping-off points to web content and a range of perspectives that you can dig into,” Google explains in a blog post on the new AI Search features.
Google says it’s also tackling the element of misinformation.
“We’ve trained these models to uphold Search’s high bar for quality, and we will continue to make improvements over time,” it adds.
AI comes to shopping in Search
When searching for a product to buy, Google will also serve you up a snapshot of factors to consider, as well as products that fit the bill. Currently, all I get when I search for clothes is fast-fashion or fake AU online shops – hopefully this new tool shows proper suggestions, not ones that pay a mint to be there first.
Anyway, Google expects this new tool to give you product descriptions that include relevant, up-to-date reviews, ratings, prices, and product images.
This article has been updated since it was first published.