At Google I/O 2023, Search gets an AI overhaul

At Google I/O 2023, the company announced(opens in a new tab) major generative AI updates to its core Search product.

Now, with certain queries, the results will show a “snapshot” of a chatbot response, suggested prompts for follow up questions, and relevant links at the top of the with traditional search results below. If you click on one of the suggested prompts, Search will open conversational mode where you can have a back-and-forth conversation directly on the search page. This is designed for searches that don’t always have a clearcut answer, so users can chat with the AI to refine what they’re looking for.

For shopping, queries will have additional context for what you’re looking for and relevant product suggestions in a similar snapshot format. These features are available to test in Search Labs, a public testing platform that accepts user feedback. You can sign up for the waitlist here(opens in a new tab).

Google seemed to notice that Gen Z is using TikTok as its main search engine these days and announced a new “Perspectives” filter at the top of the Search page. The filter exclusively shows user-generated content like long and short form videos, and posts from social media sites and discussion boards. Content will provide information about the creators and the popularity of the post. This feature will be available in the coming weeks.