Google Launches ‘AI Mode,’ Replacing Search Results with AI-Generated Answers
Fasten your seatbelts, because our journey through the internet is taking a turn. Google, the tech giant that effectively holds the keys to the digital kingdom with its search engine, is doubling down on AI-powered search results. The company has announced a significant expansion of its controversial ‘AI Overviews’ feature, including a brand new ‘AI Mode’ that is currently experimental, to replace traditional search results.
With the capabilities of Google’s latest AI model, Gemini 2.0, the AI Overviews are being enhanced to address more complex inquiries, including difficult questions about math and coding. The biggest change is the introduction of a new ‘AI Mode’ which replaces the familiar website links with answers generated by Gemini. This means users may bid farewell to the traditional search result format and instead get quick, ‘smart brevity’-style answers to a range of questions, which may, or may not, be entirely accurate.
Google asserts that user demand for AI-driven responses has increased, driving the company to enhance its AI features. Currently accessible only to subscribers of the ‘Google One AI Premium’ plan, the AI Mode is integrated onto a new tab at the top of the Google app, which will now open on a page dedicated to AI responses. This page does not provide a list of website links, a user will scroll only through chatbot responses.
Many users already utilize chatbots for search tasks, and several AI companies, such as OpenAI (with ChatGPT Search), have released versions designed for information retrieval. As the dominant entity in this realm, Google’s integration of such AI tools places these capabilities directly at the fingertips of a massive user base, many of whom are familiar with the large language model responses via the AI Overviews.
To optimize Gemini for search queries, Google says that the model uses a ‘query fan-out’ technique that is designed to cover more areas than a standard search. When presented with a question, the AI will conduct ‘multiple related searches concurrently across subtopics and multiple data sources and then brings those results together to provide an easy-to-understand response,’ according to Robby Stein, VP of Product at Google Search.
Stein added, “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 for the current AI Overviews, Google states they will continue to be available. The search summaries will even be shown to users who are not logged in.
