Google has announced a number of artificial intelligence-powered updates to its search engine, calling them “some of our most significant Search updates to date”.
From Thursday in the UK, users of the Google app on both Android and iOS will be able to use their voice to ask a question as they point their phone camera at an object or subject.
The technology giant has also confirmed that it would begin rolling out a similar tool to ask questions while recording a video to early testers on its Search Labs programme, saying its AI tools would be able to “make sense of the video and your question put together” before producing an AI Overview, the firm’s AI-generated query responses, as well as helpful resources from the web.
The updates continue the ongoing arms race between the world’s biggest tech firms to introduce new and compelling generative AI-powered tools to keep existing users engaged, as well as to draw in new ones.
On Wednesday, OpenAI, the firm behind generative AI chatbot ChatGPT confirmed its latest funding round had raised 6.6 billion US dollars (£4.97 billion) – the largest ever – and valuing the company at more than 150 billion dollars (£112 billion), a sign that the frenzy around AI remains.
In its update, Google also said it would begin rolling out new, AI-organised search results pages, starting in the United States, and beginning with recipes and meal inspiration-related searches on mobile.
Google said: “You’ll now see a full-page experience, with relevant results organised just for you. You can easily explore content and perspectives from across the web including articles, videos, forums and more — all in one place.”
Elsewhere, the company said it would start, from Thursday, adding prominent links to supporting webpages directly within the text of AI Overviews, which have started to appear at the top of Google search results in recent weeks.
Google said that in testing, it had seen this “improved experience” had “driven an increase in traffic to supporting websites compared to the previous design”.
Some critics had previously suggested that placing AI Overviews above listed search results could have an impact on publishers and advertisers, who could see clicks through to their webpages drop if they were moved further down the page.
Google said it had found that the addition of links within Overviews meant “people are finding it easier to visit sites that interest them”.
In a further move to help businesses who use Google Search, the tech giant also confirmed that it was introducing ads within AI Overviews, starting in the US on mobile.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here