Don’t be surprised if your Google Search experience changes soon. The company plans to make its search engine more “visual, snackable, personal and human,” with an eye on young people around the world, according to internal documents, Wall Street said. The Journal reported on Saturday.
The transformation will include adding AI features such as chat, adding social media posts and short videos, the WSJ said, citing several people familiar with the matter. Depending on their search queries, users may be prompted to ask follow-up questions more often or swipe through visuals such as TikTok videos, the WSJ said.
Google’s search page is one of the most widely used web pages in the world, processing billions of queries every day. The design change will have huge ripples in the tech industry and our larger culture, bringing AI to the masses in ways we’ve yet to see.
News of the makeover comes as Google faces new competition from TikTok. More and more young people are using popular short video apps to search for information on restaurants and other topics. Last September, Google began spotlighting short-form videos in Search. The journal now says such content is playing a bigger role.
And while Google has already moved some online forum posts to show up in search results, it says similar content will be shown more prominently. “As part of the transition, Google plans to bring in more human voices and support content creators in the same way it’s done on websites,” reports the Journal.
News of the redesign also comes as Google faces increasing challenges from Microsoft’s Bing search engine, which recently incorporated AI chat technology. The company is also widely expected to promote its AI products ahead of Google’s annual I/O conference scheduled for May 10.
Last month, The New York Times reported that Google was working on an AI-powered search engine. This search engine aims to provide a “more personalized experience”, be more conversational and “anticipate” users’ needs.
Also last month, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told the WSJ that Google would “absolutely” add AI chat to its search engine. Now, Google’s he can be put on a waiting list to check out the Bard AI chatbot, but the AI research powerhouse said it’s refraining from adding AI chat to search. . This is due to concerns about the accuracy of AI and the impact the technology will have on society. .
However, competitive pressure is increasing. AI analyst Chirag Dekate told CNET’s Lisa Eadicco earlier this month.
video: Google’s Bard AI: Here’s how to get started
However, makeovers come with challenges. User-generated content such as AI bots and TikTok-style videos can contain misinformation. The WSJ reports that Google will provide users with “attribution and literacy tools that enable them to consume content with confidence,” according to internal Google documents.
Concerns about AI prompted U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to meet on Thursday with Pichai, Microsoft CEO and Chat GPT creator OpenAI to discuss the risks of the technology. Researcher Geoffrey Hinton, known as “The Godfather,” told The New York Times that he left Google to allow him to speak freely about AI risks, including disinformation and threats to people’s jobs. Hinton has issued a warning that the tech industry is rushing to produce his AI product.
In response to the journal’s report on the search revamp, a Google spokesperson sent the following statement to CNET:
“Search has always been a very dynamic and rapidly evolving field and our products are constantly improving. For years we have focused on a long-term approach to evolving search. includes using AI to enable new features such as multi-search to bring more visual exploration, and we’ve also discussed this work in detail at events like Google I/O and Search On. “As search evolves, providing quality information and supporting a healthy and open web will remain core to our approach.”
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