Google is intensifying its efforts to incorporate AI-generated search results, with the tech titan declaring an expansion of its AI overviews for more complex search queries, including advanced mathematics, coding, and multimodal searches. This advancement has been made feasible by Google’s improved Gemini 2.0 model, which now powers these AI overviews.
The AI Overviews feature is also broadening its reach to more users worldwide, even those who aren’t logged in, including teenagers. This move proves Google’s commitment to making AI-generated summaries more accessible to a broader audience.
In a move towards a more interactive and real-time user experience, Google is also dabbling in the development of a unique AI search chatbot, reminiscent of ChatGPT search mode and Perplexity. The new feature, AI Mode, merges Google’s real-time search capabilities to deliver the most current responses. Currently in the experimental phase in Google’s Labs, this indicates a future where Google Search could primarily rely on AI-generated search results.
Despite the controversy and odd recommendations that AI sometimes produces, Google firmly believes that infusing AI into all its applications and services is crucial to its business strategy. Robby Stein, Google’s VP of Search, stated that the usage of Google Search has surged as people seek assistance with increasingly complex queries. However, he did not address the fact that AI Overviews cannot be disabled and that the system does still produce some inaccurate results.
A review of the first six months of AI Overviews revealed that while it works well for simple queries, it often misinterprets less common queries, producing incorrect results based on faulty search queries. This could potentially damage Google’s reputation as a reliable search engine and inadvertently spread misinformation.
Nevertheless, Google is forging ahead with new experiments, undeterred by the ongoing inaccuracies. AI Mode is a clear attempt to compete with AI-driven search engines like Perplexity and ChatGPT search mode, as users increasingly turn to chatbots for information.
The AI Mode feature, showcased in Labs, is a tab at the top of the Google Search app alongside other main filters like All, Places, Maps, and Images. The Gemini 2.0 model underpins this feature, utilizing reasoning capabilities to break down queries into step-by-step instructions for searching and validating information. This method supposedly minimizes errors, allowing the model to cross-check its work instead of randomly generating the next probable word.
Google One AI Premium subscribers who pay $20 per month will be the first to access these new features, with those participating in Labs able to join a waiting list.
