Google tests AI-only version of its search engine
People my age grew up with Google. It's hard for us to imagine a time before this search engine. But now we may be in for a sea change: like Bing has already tried, Google is now testing an AI-only version of its search engine.
Google has announced that it is introducing a new search feature called "AI Mode" based on its latest AI model, Gemini 2.0. This feature will significantly change the traditional search experience, which for many users involved searching for information through simple links. Instead of displaying a list of search results, AI Mode will replace all 10 blue links with AI-generated answers. This eliminates the need to scroll through a list of websites.
The decision to use AI-Only results could be encouraging for many, as the AI model is optimized to search for answers and has the ability to provide context-sensitive and nuanced information. Furthermore, in this new mode, Google uses advanced reasoning to provide precise answers to complex questions, be it math, programming or multimodal queries. However, the change is not without concerns: critics warn that this type of information retrieval could undermine the role of websites. The impact on the visibility of content online could be potentially disastrous for small and medium-sized businesses that rely on web traffic.
The experimental nature of this approach means that there are still many unknown variables. Still, the sheer idea that Google could completely transform the search experience is fraught with uncertainty, as the precision and reliability of AI responses still have a lot of room for development. As Google itself admits, AI answers are not always accurate and there is a possibility that they may be skewed in a direction that does not reflect reality. However, it must also be said here that current search engines are not without bias either.
The need to promote digital literacy and the skills required to critically evaluate AI-generated content will become more important as long as a variety of search and information methods are available. Overall, the introduction of Google's AI Mode will not only be a milestone for the technology, but also a challenge for users who will need to adapt to this new reality.
In summary, Google's testing phase of this AI-only search engine technology has the potential to transform the search experience as we know it. I'm excited to see how the technology develops.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-tests-ai-only-version-170329915.html
