Google has released several AI-related updates to its core product, Google Search during its I/O 2024 event this morning.
During its developer conference keynote, Liz Reid, VP of Google Search told attendees that these AI-driven updates are all about letting “Google do the googling”, sure.
One of the annoying things about these updates is that many aren’t publicly or globally available. It’s either only for devs at this point or only in the U.S. with a vague mention of a global rollout.
Here are all the Google Search updates announced at Google I/O 2024.
AI Overviews
The first thing search related announced was AI Overviews, this is for those who need an answer now dammit! When someone Googles a question or a general term, AI Overviews presents the answer they’re looking for and a quick overview of the topic.
For those whose livelihood depends on Google Traffic (news sites, ahem) Google assures us that the links included in AI Overviews get more clicks than if the page had appeared as a traditional web listing for that query.
“As we expand this experience, we’ll continue to focus on sending valuable traffic to publishers and creators. As always, ads will continue to appear in dedicated slots throughout the page, with clear labelling to distinguish between organic and sponsored results,” Reid said in a blog post.
Annoyingly, like many announcements this morning, AI Overviews is only available in the U.S. and should be released globally later this year. Sigh.
Google explains AI Overview is built to handle complex questions. For example, maybe you’re looking for a new yoga or pilates studio, and you want one that’s popular with locals, conveniently located for your commute, and also offers a discount for new members. With this feature, users will be able to ask something like “find the best yoga or pilates studios in Boston and show me details on their intro offers, and walking time from Beacon Hill.”
Search with Video
Video and AI was a big deal at this year’s event. This is one of the coolest AI search features IMO, Google is able to take visual search up a notch with the ability to ask questions with video.
During the keynote, they used an example of buying a record at a thrift shop but its broken, however, because you’re new to the tech, you can’t eloquently explain the issue. This is where video search comes in.
But, sadly searching with video will be available soon for Search Labs users in English in the U.S and they’ll expand to more regions over time.
Plan with Google Search
It seems Google wants you to use its Google Search functionality similarly to what you would with ChatGPT. The search engine giant wants you to use it to plan things, like a your meals for the next three days or a workout plan.
During the keynote, Reid said this makes planning fun without the hassle. Um excuse me, as an eldest daughter, planning an event IS the fun part!
As per usual, it’s only available in the U.S. Later this year, Google will also be adding “customisation capabilities and more categories like parties, date night and workouts”.
Results get an AI makeover
Google thinks its results page is also messy and unorganised, so to fix that, it is using generative AI to give users an organised results page. When you go to search for something like date night ideas in a particular city, the results will be categorised under headlines featuring what Google says is “a wide range of perspectives and content types”.
Learn about the rest of the Google I/O announcements here.
Image: Google/Gizmodo Australia