MOUNTAIN VIEW: On Tuesday, Google announced plans to enhance online search with more generative artificial intelligence, continuing to prioritize AI despite concerns about its effects on the company’s ad-based revenue model.
During the company’s annual developer conference, CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that Google’s search engine would now include a new AI mode. He stated that this development was the result of “decades of research.”
This new AI mode surpasses the previously introduced AI Overviews, which deliver answers to user inquiries using Google’s generative AI technology, appearing prominently above traditional blue links to websites and ads.
“The new AI mode completely reimagines the search experience with enhanced reasoning capabilities,” Pichai stated at the conference in Silicon Valley.
“You can pose longer, more complex queries… and engage more deeply with follow-up questions.”
Liz Reid, Google’s head of search, explained that the AI mode, now available in the U.S., is a robust tool that incorporates sophisticated reasoning and multi-modal capabilities, allowing users to explore their searches in greater depth.
“It searches the entire web, exploring much deeper than traditional search methods,” she said.
Since the introduction of AI Overviews at last year’s developer conference, the feature has reached over 1.5 billion users globally, according to Pichai.
“This means Google Search is delivering generative AI to more users than any other product globally,” he added.
Google’s move into generative AI comes as competition with OpenAI’s ChatGPT intensifies, which has also integrated search capabilities into its widely-used chatbot.
Both companies are rapidly launching new AI tools, grappling with challenges such as curbing misinformation while developing sustainable business models. There’s still uncertainty about how this technology will influence society.
Analysts caution that the transition away from familiar “blue links” to AI-generated summaries could significantly decrease the number of ads displayed, which form the backbone of Google’s revenue.
This shift has raised alarms among online publishers, including news organizations and Wikipedia, worried about potential drops in web traffic. For years, Google’s search links have served as a primary gateway to the internet.
Adding to the concerns, Apple executive Eddy Cue recently testified in a federal court that Google’s search traffic on Apple devices fell in April — the first decline in over 20 years.
Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, indicated during an antitrust trial in Washington that Google is losing ground to AI-based competitors like ChatGPT and Perplexity, which has caused a decline in Google’s stock prices.
Investors were further unsettled when Cue noted that Apple might soon offer AI-driven alternatives as the default search engines on its devices, raising worries about potential threats to Google’s advertisement revenue from burgeoning AI competition.
This testimony occurred during a significant trial in which a federal judge may order Google to divest crucial operations after determining that its search business constitutes an illegal monopoly.
‘Ultra’
At Google I/O — the company’s yearly developer conference — Google fosters relationships with app, platform, and online service creators to keep them integrated within its ecosystem.
Beyond search enhancements, the event showcased numerous AI advancements that are either on the horizon or already implemented.
These innovations include real-time speech translation, virtual clothing try-ons using individual user photos, and AI technology that can autonomously search for products and finalize purchases when prices drop.
Google is also introducing “agent” features to Chrome and the Gemini AI app, enabling AI to carry out online tasks independently. These capabilities will initially be available to paying subscribers.
The company revealed that its most advanced AI functionalities will be part of a new “Ultra” subscription plan, which will cost $250 per month.
