Google is debuting new AI features to make the search experience on its platform better than ever, including a new AI Mode in Search as well as upgaded AI Overviews with Gemini 2.0. Moreover, Google has expanded access of AI Overviews to teens and is allowing users to experience AI Overviews without signing in.
AI Mode in Search
Google has debuted AI Mode in Search as a part of an early experiment in Labs. This new Search mode expands what AI Overviews can do with more advanced reasoning, thinking and multimodal capabilities so you can get help with even your toughest questions. “You can ask anything on your mind and get a helpful AI-powered response with the ability to go further with follow-up questions and helpful web links,” said Google.
Using a custom version of Gemini 2.0, AI Mode is particularly helpful for questions that need further exploration, comparisons and reasoning. You can ask nuanced questions that might have previously taken multiple searches — like exploring a new concept or comparing detailed options — and get a helpful AI-powered response with links to learn more.
It brings together advanced model capabilities with “Google’s best-in-class information systems, and it’s built right into Search.” With the feature, you can not only access high-quality web content, but also tap into fresh, real-time sources like the Knowledge Graph, info about the real world, and shopping data for billions of products. It uses a “query fan-out” technique, issuing multiple related searches concurrently across subtopics and multiple data sources and then brings those results together to provide an easy-to-understand response. This approach helps you access more breadth and depth of information than a traditional search on Google.
“As with any early-stage AI product, we won’t always get it right.”
– Google
For instance, if you ask, “what’s the difference in sleep tracking features between a smart ring, smartwatch and tracking mat,” the custom version of Gemini 2.0 uses a multistep approach to make a plan, conduct searches to find information and adjust the plan based on what it finds.
If you want to know more, you can ask a follow up question, like “what happens to your heart rate during deep sleep” to quickly get an easy-to-digest response with links to relevant content.
After getting feedback from trusted testers, Google is expanding access to AI Mode in Search with a limited, opt-in experience in Labs. Google will begin inviting Google One AI Premium subscribers to be the first to try out this experience in Labs.
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Further, Google notes, “We aim to show an AI-powered response as much as possible, but in cases where we don’t have high confidence in helpfulness and quality, the response will be a set of web search results. As with any early-stage AI product, we won’t always get it right.”
“We’re already working on new capabilities and updates, like adding more visual responses with images and video, richer formatting, new ways to get to helpful web content and much more,” it added.
AI Overviews Expansion
Google has also launched Gemini 2.0 for AI Overviews in the U.S. to help with harder questions, starting with coding, advanced math and multimodal queries, with more on the way. With Gemini 2.0’s advanced capabilities, it is able to provide faster and higher quality responses and show AI Overviews more often for these types of queries.
Plus, it is also rolling out to more people, where teens can now use AI Overviews, and users will no longer need to sign in to get access.