For over twenty years, Google’s commitment to organizing and universally making information accessible has driven continuous innovation in our search engine capabilities. Advancements in AI have played a pivotal role in enhancing our understanding of information across various formats, including text, audio, images, and videos.
As part of this evolution, we have prioritized making the search experience more natural and intuitive. Examples include voice and camera-based searches through Lens, and exploring the potential of generative AI to facilitate more natural language-based queries on Search.
Looking ahead into 2024, we are excited to introduce two significant updates that align with our vision of enabling searches in any manner and anywhere. These updates are Circle to Search and an AI-powered multisearch experience.
Circle to Search:
We are launching Circle to Search, a novel feature that allows users to search within their Android phone screens seamlessly, without switching apps. By employing intuitive gestures such as circling, highlighting, scribbling, or tapping, users can easily select images, text, or videos to obtain relevant information instantly. This feature, set to launch globally on select premium Android smartphones starting January 31, will debut on devices like the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and the Samsung Galaxy S24 series.
AI-powered Multisearch:
Building on our earlier multisearch functionality in Lens, we have expanded its capabilities through recent breakthroughs in generative AI. This improvement enables users to ask more complex questions using their camera, leading to AI-powered insights that go beyond visual matches. For instance, when faced with an unfamiliar board game at a yard sale, users can take a picture, ask a question, and receive an AI-powered overview that consolidates relevant information from the web. This feature, available in English in the U.S., will be accessible through the Lens camera icon in the Google app for Android or iOS.
The launch of AI-powered insights for multisearch is a culmination of experiments conducted last year within the Search Generative Experience (SGE) in Search Labs. While we continue to experiment with generative AI, we are committed to making these advancements accessible to a broader audience. Users can enroll in Search Labs and opt into the SGE experiment to explore the latest capabilities being tested.
These updates mark a significant step in making Search more natural and intuitive, with the assurance that there is much more to explore in the future. We invite users to join us on this journey by enrolling in Search Labs and participating in the ongoing reimagining of the future of Search.
Might like to read: Google Search Smarter, Not Harder: Three New Chrome Features for a Better Browsing Experience
Source: Google