Shamraiz | December 23, 2024
Google is said to be preparing a new “AI Mode” for its search engine, a step towards a fundamentally new way users will interact with online information. This, as reported by The Information, is a feature that allows switching seamlessly to an AI-driven interface at the top of the page from search results.
A New Way to Search – The AI Mode Interface
The AI Mode tab is to be featured prominently on the left of the search options bar alongside the “All,” “Images,” “Videos,” and “Shopping” tabs. When using AI Mode, users will get conversational answers supplemented by links to relevant web pages. In addition, it has a search bar below the AI-generated answer, asking for follow-up questions to provide a further understanding of a user’s query.
This also matches the findings of a report from Android Authority wherein they found AI Mode existent in a beta release of the Google app. Further, 9to5Google discovered code that mentioned voice-based queries would indeed be supported by AI Mode. This could mean a hands-free and conversational search environment. Google has not had a word on these two reports.
Competition in the AI Landscape
The AI Mode introduction follows Google’s strategy to be competitive in the face of a changed landscape where integration of artificial intelligence is affecting the search engine. In fact, OpenAI already has a search feature released for all users in ChatGPT. This is yet another indication that Google should blend the traditional search with advanced AI capabilities as soon as possible.
Google has already begun to address this issue with the deployment of AI search summaries on particular queries. In October, the company expanded the feature to dozens more countries, which signifies the intent to improve the AI-powered tools.
