Google will soon allow users to not only search but also ask questions and give commands, thanks to a new update. Artificial intelligence will handle answering these questions and performing tasks, according to the tech giant.
This update is one of the most significant changes to Google’s search engine in the past 25 years.
“You’ll soon be able to ask anything that comes to mind or needs doing,” says Liz Reid, head of the search engine team. “From research to planning to brainstorming, Google will take care of it.”
After the update, a new feature will appear at the top of the search results: an overview. For example, if you ask, “How do you clean a fabric sofa?” Google will present various cleaning methods based on recommendations from different websites.
The websites providing these answers will be listed below the overview, followed by the usual search results users are familiar with.
This update is powered by Gemini, Google’s AI language model. “There’s so much innovation happening in search,” said CEO Sundar Pichai during the presentation. “With Gemini, we can create a much more powerful search experience.”
The feature, named AI Overviews, will be available this week for users in the United States, with more countries to follow later.