AI is poised to redefine the landscape of Google Search, with the rollout of AI Mode starting today for U.S. users. This innovative feature replaces traditional search results with compact link icons that direct users back to information sourced by Google.
Liz Reid, a vice president at Google and head of Google Search, highlighted that AI Overviews currently serve 1.5 billion users and will soon expand to over 200 countries. It remains uncertain whether AI Mode will automatically become the default for all U.S. users or if there will be options for users to choose their preferred search experience.
While traditional search functionality is not expected to disappear, it will likely be shifted to a separate tab, similar to how image searches currently operate. Reid mentioned that enhancements to AI Mode will also be applied to AI Overviews.
Reid detailed the workings of AI Mode, explaining that it employs a “query fan-out technique.” This approach dissects user questions into various subtopics, allowing for deeper searches across the web to yield highly relevant and specific content.
Moreover, Google plans to upgrade the technology powering AI Mode, integrating it into mobile search experiences as well. Features like “Deep Search” will enable the system to perform several parallel searches, aggregating the results to provide comprehensive information.
AI Mode will also introduce the capability to utilize data from services like Gmail and Google Drive to personalize search results further. Reid assured users they would maintain control, with the option to opt in or out of these features as desired.
However, this evolution poses significant challenges for tech publishers. Google’s AI-generated summaries may overshadow original content, raising questions about traffic to the sources of that content.
Reid maintains that AI Overviews lead to higher quality user interactions with linked content, as visitors tend to engage more with the websites they click on. Amidst growing competition from companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, Google is determined to maintain its leading position in the search engine market.
Reid described AI Mode as a preview of the future of search, reinforcing Google’s commitment to innovation.