Google experiments with artificial intelligence in search

The effect ChatGPT’s recent popularity has had on Google is still pretty amazing: the search giant has been practically scrambling, publicly, to find its own alternative for the last few months. Today at his I/O conference, he unveiled his thoughts on incorporating AI into research.

Google is starting small, however, with an experiment labeled Labs. This is now only available to people in the US, in English only, and only on Chrome for desktop and the Google app for Android and iOS.

So what do you get if you try this feature from Labs? Let’s go with the example of Google, as it helps in getting the picture. You can search for “what’s best for a family with children under 3 and a dog, bryce canyon or arches” and, with generative AI, you’ll get a snapshot of key information to consider. There are also links if you want to dig deeper.

You can then ask for a personalized follow-up or choose from one of the suggested follow-up questions. This will take you to a new mode of conversation, where context is transferred from one question to another, and you’ll find useful starting points for web content and “a range of perspectives you can drill into”.

Generative AI can also help you shop, as it can understand complex search terms. Again, when researching a product you’ll get a snapshot, which this time includes noteworthy factors to consider and products that fit the bill. Product descriptions include relevant and up-to-date reviews, ratings, prices, and images.

Google says it’s committed to continuing to send valuable traffic to sites across the web, and not just sitting on its search page all day talking to AI. The company also believes that “ads are a vital part of how the web works and help people find relevant products and services,” so ads will continue to appear in dedicated spaces within the search page.

Google promises that it has trained its models to “sustain the high level of search quality” and will continue to improve the models over time. Search Labs enrollment opens today, and you’ll have access to new Generative AI features “starting in the next few weeks.”