After several leaks detailing the chatbot functionality coming to Google Search, Google announced the AI Mode release a few weeks ago. Unsurprisingly, AI Mode was initially available as a rather limited test, with Google One AI Premium subscribers in the US (aka Gemini Advanced) able to try the feature via Labs.
A few weeks later, Google is now ready to expand AI Mode to more people, though we’re not looking at a widespread release. Not everyone is getting AI Mode in Google Search; most people will still have to deal with AI Overviews if they want AI features in search.
That said, I’d rather stick with ChatGPT Search for my online searches than use Google’s AI Mode.
It’s crazy to think the undisputed leader in online search is struggling to catch up to OpenAI’s ChatGPT Search. We’ve had web search functionality in ChatGPT for months now. You can invoke it with the tap of a button, or ChatGPT will go into search mode on its own when you instruct it to find information for you. Gemini can also find information on the web for you, of course.
ChatGPT Search isn’t as widely known as Google Search, and ChatGPT can afford to make mistakes. But there’s value in having a chatbot help perform searches for you, as long as you know how to navigate it. I always ask ChatGPT to provide sources, and ChatGPT Search offers links by default. That way, you can verify the information. After all, AI bots still spit out incorrect information all the time.
I often have follow-up questions about my initial search, so I prefer the chatbot experience versus the regular online search experience. On that note, I almost never use Google Search anymore, so that’s one reason why I’m not particularly excited about AI Mode.
Many Google fans are also Google Search users, and they might appreciate having an AI Mode experience in Google Search for the same reason I noted above: Follow-up chats.
Google explained a few weeks ago that AI Mode uses “a custom version of Gemini 2.0. The new feature is “particularly helpful for questions that need further exploration, comparisons, and reasoning.” AI Mode will work well with “nuanced questions that might have previously taken multiple searches,” Google added.
The company also called the experience “unique,” saying that AI Mode combines advanced model capabilities with “Google’s best-in-class information systems.”
Google also described how AI Mode works when you select this option from the Google Search menu, assuming you have access to the experimental mode:
It uses a “query fan-out” technique, issuing multiple related searches concurrently across subtopics and multiple data sources and then brings those results together to provide an easy-to-understand response. This approach helps you access more breadth and depth of information than a traditional search on Google.
Google confirmed on Monday that AI Mode access is expanding to more people in the US who are paying Gemini Advanced subscribers. If you were on the waiting list, you might have received invites to try AI Mode. You might have dealt with a bug before actually getting in. But if you got your invite, AI Mode will be available when using Google Search logged in with your account.
It’s unclear when the feature will roll out to more users, including Gemini users in the US who do not pay for Gemini Advanced, as well as users in certain markets, like the EU.
If you did get access, I’ll point out the obvious caveats. First, AI Mode can and will make mistakes. Google said as much a few weeks ago. Secondly, it’s not very clear what happens with your data in these Google Search AI Mode chats. Does it train the AI? Does Google use it for ad targeting? It feels like Google should answer these questions preemptively every time it brings a new AI feature to Google Search, but it doesn’t.
Meanwhile, ChatGPT Search doesn’t come with ads, it’s free to use for anyone, and you can opt out of data collection and model training. These are more reasons for me to stick with it for the foreseeable future instead of trying Google’s AI Mode.
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