Generative AI changes the face of engines: now Google searches for us

If ever there was a need, the latest edition of Google I/O reaffirmed a concept: the Californian giant certainly does not want to lose ground in a field, that of search engines, which has contributed massively to its success and the growth of its business, and therefore throws down a new gauntlet to Microsoft and OpenAI by formalising the integration of Gen AI in its search engine for US and UK users, and confirming that AI Overviews will soon be available to other countries in order to reach the billion-user target by the end of the year. What this new feature does thanks to the work of the Gemini model is quickly summarised: create search summaries that appear alongside traditional link-based queries, provide a series of potential answers and links to more in-depth information once a generic question is received, and finally answer more complex questions and sub-questions in a matter of seconds, using the 'multi-step reasoning' technique.

Addressing the audience of developers gathered in Mountain View, Liz Reid, Vice President and Head of Search Division, got straight to the point, imamging herself in front of a potential user: 'generative AI-based search will do more for you than you ever imagined. Whatever is on your mind and whatever you need to do,' she added, 'just ask and Google will do the search for you'. The secret now out is the evolution of Gemini into a customised version for the search engine, bringing together the capabilities of the new model, starting with multimodality, with the most advanced semantic search technology to produce results organised by artificial intelligence. If it is not a point of arrival, then it is very close, not least because for 25 years - as Reid recalled - Google's engineers have been studying and grinding code and algorithms to reinvent one of BigG's most popular services, the search engine. The promise of a system that can operate autonomously or almost autonomously is linked to several cornerstones, and among them a knowledge base made up of billions of places, products, and things to provide the user with reliable information in no time. "Google," the manager went on to explain, "will take care of research, planning and gathering ideas for you. When you need to find an answer quickly and there is no time to examine all the information available, our technology will do it for you thanks to AI Overviews'. Google's conviction stems from the endless testing work on summaries, which have confirmed that links generated by this tool get on average more clicks than scenarios in which the page appears in a traditional list of websites related to a given query. And this is where the new search model based on Gemini's capabilities takes shape, it being understood that paid ads will continue to appear in dedicated spaces within the page, with a clear label to distinguish organic from sponsored results.

The global release of AI Overviews is however a prelude to other search-related features that will soon be made available to users. More precisely, as Reid again emphasised, it will be possible to adjust the AI-generated overviews in the format that best corresponds to one's level of experience, with options to simplify the language or go into more detail. A feature (currently on the launching pad for questions in English and in the United States) that can be particularly useful when one is unfamiliar with a topic or if one wants to make it easier for children to understand.

Gemini's multi-step reasoning capabilities, on the other hand, will help to find answers to increasingly complex questions, avoiding the need to divide the search activity into several actions: in other words, one will be able to put everything one wants to know in a single query, without leaving out any detail useful in finding the desired information. Finally, the value of Google Search's integrated planning capabilities will be fully revealed when it comes to organising any activity, from daily meals to holidays (later on, the tool will be extended to parties, evening appointments, and fitness), with the added advantage of being able to quickly export the results obtained to a Documents file or to Gmail. Other features, such as the possibility of asking questions with videos (showing the malfunctioning of an electronic device, for example), taking visual search to a level never seen before, are in the pipeline for the next few weeks in the US and will gradually be extended to the rest of the world. The idea, in short, of a Gen AI-driven engine working on our behalf is far from distant, let alone a utopian dream. 'All of this,' Reid concluded, 'is only a small part of how we are reinventing Google Search.