Illustration: The Verge
Google is planning to add a new “AI Mode” to its search engine, according to a report from The Information. The company will reportedly display an option to switch to AI Mode from the top of the results page, allowing you to access an interface similar to its Gemini AI chatbot.
The new AI Mode tab would live on the left side of the “All,” “Images,” “Videos,” and “Shopping” tabs, The Information reports. When you receive a response in AI Mode, The Information says Google will display links to related webpages and “a search bar below the conversational answer that prompts users to ‘Ask a follow-up…’”
This tracks with Android Authority’s report from earlier this month, which spotted an AI Mode in a beta version of the Google app. 9to5Google also dug up code suggesting you can use AI Mode to ask questions using your voice. The Verge reached out to Google with a request for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
With OpenAI rolling out search in ChatGPT for all users, Google is likely under increased pressure to consolidate search and AI. The company already displays AI search summaries for some queries and recently expanded the feature to dozens of more countries in October.
