“You can ask longer and more complex queries … and you can go further with follow-up questions.”

Google head of search Liz Reid described the freshly unveiled AI mode, now available in the United States, as a powerful tool with advanced reasoning, multi-modality, and the ability for users to dive deeper into searches.

“It searches across the entire web, going way deeper than the traditional search,” Reid said.

Since Google debuted AI Overviews in search results at its developers conference a year ago, it has grown to more than 1.5 billion users across several countries, according to Pichai.

“That means Google Search is bringing Gen AI [generative AI] to more people than any other product in the world,” Pichai said.

Google’s push into generative AI comes after intensifying competition with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which has itself incorporated search engine features into its popular chatbot.

Both companies are rapidly releasing new AI products despite ongoing challenges with preventing misinformation and establishing clear business models, and with no clear sense of how the tech will affect society.

Analysts have expressed concerns that shifting away from pages of “blue links” to AI-generated summaries in Google search would mean fewer opportunities to serve up the money-making ads that are at the heart of the company’s business model.

This has also caused alarm among website publishers, such as news organisations or Wikipedia, who face a massive drop in traffic with the potential demise of Google search links that have been the main gateway to the internet for the past two decades.

Fuelling those concerns, Apple executive Eddy Cue testified in US federal court recently that Google’s search traffic on Apple devices declined in April for the first time in over two decades.

Cue, Apple’s senior vice-president of services, told the Washington antitrust trial that Google was losing ground to AI alternatives like ChatGPT and Perplexity, sending Google’s shares plummeting.

Investors were also unsettled when Cue added that Apple might soon offer AI alternatives as default search options on its devices, heightening concerns that Google’s advertising revenue could face serious threats from AI competitors.

This testimony occurred during a critical trial in which a federal judge could potentially order Google to divest key businesses, following a previous ruling that its search engine constitutes an illegal monopoly.

‘Ultra’

At its annual developers conference, known as Google I/O, the company nurtures relationships with creators of apps, platforms or online services, hoping to keep them inspired to sync with its offerings.

Beyond search, the conference showcased numerous AI innovations being developed or deployed.

These include real-time speech translation, virtual clothing try-ons using personal photos and technology that can automatically search for desired items and make purchases when prices drop.

Google is also introducing “agent” capabilities to Chrome and the Gemini AI app, allowing AI to handle online tasks independently. These features will initially launch for paying subscribers.

The company announced that its most advanced AI tools would be available through a new “Ultra” subscription tier priced at US$250 ($421) monthly.

– Agence France-Presse