Google has announced the Search engine’s AI Mode is now rolling out to users in the United States with no subscription required.
The new Gemini-powered mode has a dedicated new tab in search with Google saying it’ll enable users to ask longer, deeper, harder questions with detailed follow ups that include personal context.
“AI Mode is our most powerful AI search, with more advanced reasoning and multimodality, and the ability to go deeper through follow-up questions and helpful links to the web,” Google says in a blog post.
In this huge advancement on AI Overviews, Google encouraging users to “ask anything” no matter how complex and detailed the request. You’ll get responses with text, images, graphs, maps, videos and more. And, when it comes to shopping there’s a virtual try-on feature.
Google says the AI Mode takes Google Search “from surfacing information to surfacing intelligence” and will even detect when a question needs to take advantages of Gemini’s advanced reasoning capabilities.
It’ll break down the question into multiple separate queries and sends them across the entire web, going deeper than traditional search and surfacing local data from Maps users and more. It’s also capable of checking its work. If gaps are spotted, AI Mode will know and perform further searches to fill in the gaps, Google said on stage at I/O.
Personal Context
Google is planning to expand this feature with personalised context based on your previous searches, while also integrating data from your other Google apps, like Gmail. We’ve seen this approach deployed through other Google Gemini efforts.
So AI mode could, for example, scan your Gmail to know that, through your recent restaurant bookings, you prefer to sit outside and suggest restaurants with nice outdoor seating areas.
It’ll also know what you’re into thanks to newsletters you subscribe to so you might get personalised suggestions for stuff to do while you’re visiting a new town, instead of the general tourist traps the current Google search will showcase.
Because your flight and hotel details are also sitting pretty in your inbox, so you’ll get suggestions for your trip based on when you’re going to actually be there without having to search via the dates. You’ll see it in AI Mode from this summer.
Deep Search
The Google Search AI Mode is also making use of Gemini’s new Deep Think mode, which offers more considered responses through more reasoned presentation of information. This mode will begin up to hundreds of searches on your behalf and reasons based on all of the surfaced information.
Data analysis
Google offered an example of how sports fans can analyse data using Google Search AI Mode and visualise it in a graph. Google gave the example of searching the web for batting stats of hitters using the controversial “torpedo” bats. Because Google can always access real-time information “down to the last strike” in every game, the data will be hyper accurate and Google will decide the best way to present these results to the user. In this instance it decided upon a graph.
Getting better seats faster
Google calls this one Project Mariner and it’s coming to AI Mode. With this “Agentic” Search mode users will be able to ask complex queries like: “Find me two affordable tickets in the lower level for Saturday’s Reds game.”
From here it’ll search all of the ticket retailers, fill in all the forms you need to on sites like StubHub and Ticketmaster to match the criteria. It’ll analyse pricing and inventory in real time. You’ll see a load of options with prices and details like “located six rows back from the field on the third-based site offering good views of home plate and the reds dugout.” You can click to complete the purchase right there.
It’s coming for events, restaurant reservations, and local services soon, Google says.
Search Live
Google is bringing the Gemini Live experience into Search AI Mode.
Google says: “We’re taking the next step in multimodality by bringing Project Astra’s live capabilities into Search. With Search Live, you can talk back-and-forth with Search about what you see in real-time, using your camera.”
In AI Mode shopping has received an insane upgrade. Google says it will understand you’re looking for visual inspiration based upon a query like “find me a cute travel bag.” so you’ll get a panel of images and listings personalised to what you want to see. You’ll be able to narrow it down to “Portland, Oregon in May” to fan out the query. That’ll take into consider the weather, waterproofing, and more with the panel of images dynamically updating.
There’s also a new price watch feature and a virtual try on feature too.
Google says AI Mode is rolling out to Search in the US from today with no subscriptions required. The various tools will come as and when they’re ready. No news yet on when it’ll come to the UK.
