At the Google I/O 2023 event, the search giant finally showcased how it’s going to integrate Generative AI with its fundamental business — Google Search. Google has completely reimagined a new way to display information and context to your search queries. After Microsoft breathed new life into Bing with generative AI, it was clear that Google would fire the shots. And it appears the new Google Generative AI Search is poised to start a new era in how we use search and what kinds of questions we can ask. Here are all the new AI updates coming to Google Search.
Generative AI in Google Search
With Generative AI in Google Search, you will get an AI-powered snapshot of your queries. It can smartly understand the question and its context using Google’s latest PaLM 2 model and displays key information on top of search results. You can choose to ask a follow-up question, which opens the conversation mode where you continue the chat and get more information without losing any context.
On the right side, it displays quick links to web pages where you can find more in-depth insight on the subject. Right below, you have suggested next steps or questions for your follow-up. And of course, if you scroll down, you will get the traditional search results. Basically, Google is putting Generative AI at the front and center of the Search UI.
Due to this stark change in how Google’s Generative AI Search works, you can ask longer and more complex questions in one go. In the demo, Google demonstrated that if you ask “What’s better for a family with kids under 3 and a dog, Bryce Canyon or Arches.” Google responds with an AI-generated snapshot of key information. As you can see above, you don’t need to search individual queries and piece information together. You can simply ask the Generative AI to do the heavy lifting for you.
Shopping Just Got Easier on Google Generative AI Search
If you want to buy a product, you can just enter your queries and the new Generative AI Search will curate a list for you with current pricing, reviews, buying links, and other relevant information. In fact, it will also show what points you should consider before buying a particular product.
Google says it takes advantage of Google’s Shopping Graph which has over 35 billion product listings and every hour, close to 1.8 billion listings are refreshed for fetching the latest and reliable information. As for ads in search results, Google states that relevant products and services “will continue to appear in dedicated ad slots throughout the page.”
Sign Up to Access Google Generative AI Search
Google is taking a very cautious and deliberate approach to the new Search Generative Experience (SGE). The company is starting a new experiment in Search Labs and only users in the US can access the new AI-powered Search UI right now. In addition, Android phone users in the US must use the latest version of the Google app (Android or iOS). And desktop users in the US must use the Chrome browser. Keep in mind, you won’t get the SGE experience on mobile Chrome running on smartphones.
To sign up for SGE, go to labs.google.com/search on Chrome desktop and join the waitlist. Android and iOS users in the US can update the Google app to the latest version and tap on the “Labs” icon in the top-left corner and enable “SGE”.
