Google brings more AI to search engine in ‘significant’ update

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.