Google’s AI tool Gemini is about to make a big splash on Google Search and could possibly change the way you use the search engine. The tool has been available in Search Labs for a while now, but it’s about to be released to the whole world with some new enhancements.
At Tuesday’s Google I/O event, the search giant showcased some features that we can expect to see in the future for understanding complex, multiquestion queries, planning your next vacation or meal plan, and even using Google Lens to search with video when you don’t know how to ask your question.
Watch this: Google Brings Multistep Reasoning to Search
These features were in addition to a whole slew of other AI-centric features and services that dominated the Google I/O Keynote. For More I/O announcements, check out the new AI features coming to Gmail mobile and how Google is upping its AI game even more.
AI Overviews might be the only search result you need, maybe
Google is using AI-powered search to introduce multistep reasoning in an attempt to answer more complex questions. An example given during the keynote of a multipart question was asking Google Search to find the best yoga or pilates studios in Boston, show you details on their intro offers and calculate the walking time from Beacon Hill. Gemini can work on each part of this question at once and give an answer within seconds with information that you can then refine.
You’ll end up chatting with Gemini to find the right studio, instead of the old way of searching, where you would break this complex question into its components and search for each one individually. Notably, Google’s AI Overviews will keep you on Google’s search page instead of quickly linking you out to third-party websites from its search results page.
AI Overviews aren’t limited to complex questions that would typically take multiple searches. General search queries can also produce AI Overviews, and Gemini looks to be context aware with the results it provides that sometimes it will just provide you a chip at the top of the results to generate an AI Overview instead.
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Plan meals, parties and more with Search
Gemini will also make Google Search better at planning, Google said. It gave an example about meal planning where Google Search lets you specify your tastes and preferences to receive a meal plan with recipes and a shopping list. And if one part of the plan isn’t right, you can just ask Google Search to tweak it until it is something you want to make and eat.
Gemini will create the plan for you instead of you needing to do the legwork to search for each recipe and then putting the plan together yourself. Google expects you to use Search to plan trips, parties, workout routines, and more. Once you’re happy with your plan, it can easily be exported for use elsewhere.
Video search with Google Lens
In addition to the textbox in Google Search, you’ll soon be able to use video to ask a question. Gemini’s multimodal understanding lets it analyze a live video and provide answers to a question about it. Examples given to this new video search were how to fix a broken arm on a record player or stuck lever on a camera. Both are instances where you want to fix something but might not know the make or model of the record player or camera, or the specific name of the part that isn’t working.
The feature utilizes the already-baked-into-Search Google Lens, which has long been used for image search, so video seems like a natural next step.
Gemini-powered search will start rolling out to users in the US starting today and over the next few weeks. It will expand to other countries soon.
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