Google has announced updates to its search engine, focused on visual and audio search but also on AI-organized results pages. Not everything is releasing now, but the updates will be seen as they rolls out.
Google Lens has been upgraded with video understanding and voice input. You’ll be able to record videos and ask questions about moving objects or pictures using natural language. Google Lens will give an AI Overview and relevant resources from voice search, but right now, video is only available to Search Labs users enrolled in the AI Overviews and more. These features are available globally in the Google app for Android and iOS. Also, the shopping page has been upgraded with Google Lens. It now includes reviews, price comparisons, and retailer information. Google is using its Shopping Graph to find products and give users more details to make purchasing decisions.
In addition to visual search, Google has introduced a new way to find songs using its Circle to Search feature. Users can now search for songs they hear without switching apps. This can be directly from videos, movies, or websites. This feature is currently available on over 150 million Android devices but is continuing to roll out in stages.
Google is also rolling out AI-organized search results pages in the U.S., starting with recipes and meal inspiration on mobile. These pages should give a full page experience with relevant results organized for the user, including articles, videos, forums, and more. Google is also adding prominent links to supporting web pages within the AI overview text. Google mentioned that this is because users still want to go to the page itself with the information, so it will give links more prominently.
he change to links change is supposed to drive traffic to websites and make it easier for users to find relevant information because “people want to go directly to the source for many of their questions.” However, it sounds like users still trust websites that must curate and verify their information more than they trust Google’s AI (for good reason), so it’s making it clearer where information may come from. Still, this may be the answer to Bing’s most recent AI search update.
Source: Google