Google Search remains the biggest part of the company"s overall business. Today, as part of the Google I/O 2024 developer conference, the company announced it is adding some AI-based features for Search that have been tested in its Search Labs.
In a blog post, Google revealed it is rolling out what it calls AI Overviews in Search. It creates a summary answer to a Google Search inquiry using information from a number of sources. Those answers also contain links to other sites for more detailed info. Google says:
With AI Overviews, people are visiting a greater diversity of websites for help with more complex questions. And we see that the links included in AI Overviews get more clicks than if the page had appeared as a traditional web listing for that query. As we expand this experience, we’ll continue to focus on sending valuable traffic to publishers and creators.
AI Overviews are rolling out now to US users of Google Search and will expand to other parts of the world in the coming months.
Google is working on adding planning features into Search. If you want to plan your next vacation or want to learn how to cook a specific recipe, Google Search will soon be able to offer specific plans to accomplish those tasks. Once a plan has been created and finalized, it can be imported into Google Docs or Gmail. It"s currently available in the Search Labs for English in the US.
Google is also adding AI improvements for video searches as well. The company stated:
Maybe you bought a record player at a thrift shop, but it’s not working when you turn it on and the metal piece with the needle is drifting unexpectedly. Searching with video saves you the time and trouble of finding the right words to describe this issue, and you’ll get an AI Overview with steps and resources to troubleshoot.
This feature is also being tested in Search Labs for US English users.