Google launches new AI search feature in UK
59 minutes ago Share Save Zoe Kleinman • @zsk Technology editor Share Save
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Google is rolling out a new tool in the UK that will generate results using artificial intelligence (AI), in a significant shake-up to the world's most popular search engine. Instead of a list of search results showing links to other websites in blue type, people who choose "AI Mode" will be given an answer written in a conversational style, containing far fewer links to other pages. The new search tool will not replace Google's existing search platform, which processes billions of queries every day. But experts predict such tools will increasingly incorporate AI, a shift that is concerning organisations, firms and publishers, which rely on search traffic.
People are increasingly turning to AI chatbots such as ChatGPT instead of traditional search engines to find quick, simple answers to questions, even though they are not always accurate. Google itself already includes a brief AI-generated "overview" in the listed results for some searches. And the new tool, which uses Google's Gemini AI platform to generate its answers, has already been launched in the US and India. It is being rolled out in the UK over the next few days. For now, AI Mode will be optional and will appear both as a tab and an option within the search box itself.
Complicated queries
The tech giant said it was responding to changes in the way people use its search engine to ask more complicated questions. "About two years ago, if you spilled coffee on your carpet, you would have [searched for] 'clean carpet stain'," said Google's product manager for search, Hema Budaraju. "That's how you would have probably keyworded your way through. "Now, my query is likely to be, 'I spilled coffee on my Berber carpet, I'm looking for a cleaner that is pet friendly'."
Getty Images AI Mode has already been rolled out in the US and India
The BBC was unable to test the tool with its own questions during the demo because the tool had not yet been activated in the UK. But Google provided a demo using the example of someone searching for suitable places to take a young family strawberry picking. However, the answers it provided seemed to be spread over a wide geographical area. It featured a handful of links to businesses, including their locations on a map, but they came lower down in the response, compared to a traditional Google search.
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