Google offers AI-generated conversational responses in search

Google reportedly plans to add an AI Mode option to its search page that will allow users to get conversational responses from a Gemini-like chatbot instead of traditional search results.

AI mode will be available via a tab near the top of the search results page, near the existing tabs like All, Photos, Videos and Shopping, the Information reported Thursday (Dec. 19), citing an unnamed source.

As with its Gemini chatbot, Google’s AI mode will include links to external websites below its conversational responses, along with a search bar that invites users to ask a follow-up question, according to the report.

A Google spokesperson said in the report: “As our advanced models continue to evolve, there is a huge opportunity to bring these new capabilities into Search, helping people discover even more of the web.”

This report comes at a time when more companies are adding AI-powered conversational interfaces.

It was reported on December 18 that AI search firm Perplexity AI closed a $500 million funding round earlier this month, tripling its valuation to $9 billion.

In October, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said the company serves over 100 million queries a week and aims to increase that number to 100 million queries every day.

Reddit said Dec. 9 that it launched a test of an AI-powered conversational interface designed to answer questions by providing information and recommendations based on conversations and communities across its social media platform.

When a question is asked, Reddit Answers will provide curated summaries of relevant conversations and details, links to related communities and posts, and the ability to ask follow-up questions so users can dig deeper into their search.

In July, OpenAI rolled out prototype AI search features to a small group of users and publishers and said it would later integrate the best features into ChatGPT.

“Getting answers online can take a lot of effort, and it often takes multiple attempts to get relevant results,” the company said in a press release at the time. “We believe that by enhancing our models’ conversational capabilities with real-time information from the web, it can be faster and easier to find what you’re looking for.”