It is match point Google as the tech giant prepares to introduce a new “AI Mode” for its search engine, which will allow users to transition into an atmosphere that resembles the Gemini AI chatbot interface.
According to a report from The Information, Google will add an AI Mode tab to the link options in its search results, where the “All,” “Images,” “Videos,” and “Shopping” options reside. The AI Mode would make Google search more accessible and intuitive for users, allowing them to “ask follow-up” questions pertaining to the links in the results via a chatbot text bar, the publication added.
Prior reports from Android Authority uncovered the APK for the AI Mode feature within a beta version of the Google Search mobile app in early December. Notably, in the publication’s screenshots, the icon for AI Mode is denoted as a magnifying glass with a plus sign. Additionally, 9to5Google previously uncovered that the AI Mode feature would have a speech option, allowing users to input queries with their voice.
While Google has not made any comment about the development, the brand is notably in competition with OpenAI, the creator of the ChatGPT chatbot. When OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Search in late October, many noted how Google Search could have its closest rival due to the tool’s quickly growing popularity.
Third-party researchers indicated that ChatGPT has seen exponential traffic with 3.7 billion visits to its site worldwide, compared to Google Chrome’s 3.45 billion users. This sparked murmurs of the parent company potentially developing an AI-powered browser to go head-to-head with Google. OpenAI executives have denied that it has a browser in the works. Meanwhile, OpenAI has discussed plans to ramp up AI development efforts to reach a goal of 1 billion ChatGPT users in 2025. The company recently marketed its “12 days of OpenAI” where it introduced several AI developments for ChatGPT consumers, enterprise users, and Apple integration, among other interesting announcements.
Conversely, pundits note Google’s primary development in its search engine has included AI summaries in Google Search. The brand has now begun to introduce support for this feature to several additional markets. So far, the company’s AI strategy has appeared to be integrating Google’s legacy features into Gemini instead of the other way around.