Google is doubling down on AI mode, the biggest change in its core search experience in years.
Google is bringing visual results to AI mode. Google AI mode can’t only generate images in response to queries, but can also accept images as an input. The visual results in AI mode are available in English in the U.S. starting this week.
“Got the vibe but not the words? Starting today, you can simply show or tell AI Mode about what you’re looking for and get rich, visual results to explore,” Google posted on X. Google showed off how AI mode could help a user get design inspiration for designing their room. Users could “talk” to the images, ask for darker designs and so on, and AI mode was able to generate them for them.
“When you show AI Mode what you’re searching for it uses our new “visual search fan-out” technique to get a deeper understanding of what’s in an image (including subtle details and secondary objects), and runs multiple queries in the background. This helps it understand the visual context and nuance of your request to deliver relevant visual responses,” Google explained.
Google AI mode is a complete reimagining of search. Instead of showing results from the web, AI mode automatically answers users’ questions using AI. Google had been pushed into launching AI mode with the rise of products like ChatGPT and Perplexity, which were seeing significant traction among consumers. AI mode eats into Google’s search business, because Google isn’t able to yet show ads in AI mode, but it appears to have powered through with its launch all the same, giving it the prized top-left real estate on its web interface, and prominently displaying it on the app. Google has also rolled out AI mode to most countries around the world.
Google now seems to be doubling down on AI mode with this new visual component. This seems like a slightly different use-case from traditional search, and wouldn’t necessarily impact Google’s revenue very much. But Google clearly sees potential in AI Mode, and seems to be building and iterating on it quickly. And if AI mode takes off, Google would quickly need to find a way to monetize those queries and prevent too much cannibalization of its core search business.