Google to Introduce AI-Generated answers in new update

Google has announced a significant update to its search engine, introducing AI-generated answers for online queries in the United States. This update, one of the most substantial changes to Google Search in 25 years, was revealed by Google chief executive Sundar Pichai at an event in California on Tuesday, May 14.

“I’m excited to announce that we will begin launching this fully revamped experience, ‘AI overviews,’ to everyone in the US this week,” Pichai said.

The new feature will present an AI summary at the top of search results, preceding the usual list of links. These AI-generated answers, powered by Google’s Gemini technology, will provide concise summaries of information sourced from the web, along with links to the original online sources.

Liz Reid, head of the Google Search team, explained the new capability:

“You can ask whatever’s on your mind or whatever you need to get done – from researching to planning to brainstorming – and Google will take care of the legwork.”

This update comes as Google faces increasing competition from AI-powered search engines like Perplexity and rumors that OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is developing its own AI search tool.

Additionally, AI chat-based searches are now available on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, enabling users to obtain web information without relying on Google.

Pichai also noted that the AI-generated answers will soon be rolled out to other countries, making this advanced search functionality accessible to more than a billion people worldwide.