ChatGPT Search isn’t my main search engine, but it’s an increasingly important online search tool in my arsenal. I don’t specifically press the ChatGPT Search button in the ChatGPT interface to look for something on the web. But I do tell the AI to find stuff online for me, and it uses its search functionality for that. In either case, ChatGPT provides relevant links to its claims, which I often click to verify information or explore a site or service in greater detail.
I think this is the future of internet search. The conversational nature of the prompt used to search the web is the key ingredient that Google Search has lacked all these years.
With Google Search and other non-AI search engines, you have to pay attention to your keywords and refine them to doge blog spam and find the information you need. ChatGPT Search and AI search engines understand what you mean and can then find the information you need on the web for you. Of course, accuracy and hallucinations are another story.
While ChatGPT Search just got a big upgrade recently, you don’t have to switch away from Google Search to get this AI search experience. That’s because Google is working on an AI Mode for search, and it seems like its release is imminent.
AI Mode isn’t to be confused with the annoying AI Overviews that appear atop current searches. AI Mode is a separate Google Search mode you have to invoke specifically. It resides in a tab, according to leaks from December, so it won’t override the regular non-AI Search results you might favor.
But AI Mode is set to improve Google Search in ways similar to what ChatGPT Search does. You’ll be able to ask open-ended questions, and the AI will provide answers similar to ChatGPT and Gemini, complete with links to sources.
We have no idea when AI Mode will be available, but there has been development since the December leaks. In December, teardowns of mobile apps revealed the AI Mode. Now, Google is actually preparing to test the feature internally, and that involves the desktop version of Google Search.
According to 9to5Google, Google sent an internal email earlier this week inviting employees to “dogfood” the AI Mode. That means Google wants employees to test the product before a public rollout.
Google describes AI Mode experiences as “Search intelligently research[ing] for you – organizing information into easy-to-digest breakdowns with links to explore content across the web.” AI Mode will serve “open-ended/exploratory questions” that traditional search doesn’t serve well. That’s in line with what I ask ChatGPT from time to time.
Google provided the following examples for AI Mode:
- “How many boxes of spaghetti should I buy to feed 6 adults and 10 children, and have enough for seconds?”
- “Compare wool, down, and synthetic jackets in terms of insulation, water resistance, and durability”
- “What do I need to get started with aquascaping?”
- Follow-up: “What are some nearby stores to buy supplies?”
A “custom version” of Gemini 2.0 is what makes AI Mode possible in Google Search. The model will support “advanced reasoning and thinking capabilities.”
The email also showed off the current “early release” user interface for the desktop experience that Googlers can use. It looks like a regular Google Search mode, but the AI Mode tab is selected at the top. Once you ask your question, the AI will provide a detailed answer, similar to ChatGPT chats. You’ll be able to ask follow-up questions via a composer field (the Google Search field) after the answer.
The AI Mode will also display search results to web pages on the right. ChatGPT Search does the same thing, but you have to press a button to reveal the sources.
Again, it’s unclear when AI Mode will launch in Google Search, but it’s great to see we’ve reached the dogfooding testing phase. AI Mode might be the genAI feature Google Search needs rather than AI Overviews.
The post Google Search is getting an AI Mode soon – here’s what it does appeared first on BGR.
