Google is pushing AI further into Search with two major updates. The company is upgrading AI Overviews with Gemini 2.0 and testing AI Mode.

AI Overviews upgrade with Gemini 2.0

Google is expanding AI Overviews with Gemini 2.0, its most advanced AI model.

When Google launched Gemini 2.0, the company said it would integrate it with AI Overviews. Now, it is available in the U.S. The AI-powered feature, which provides answers directly in search results, will now be more visible for coding, advanced math, and multimodal queries.

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, confirmed the update in an X post. According to Pichai, “AI Overviews are one of our most popular Search features ever” and it will get better with Gemini 2.0. Google claims Gemini 2.0 will enhance AI Overviews by providing faster, higher-quality responses. Users can search using a mix of text, images, and voice.

Google is pushing ahead with developing search capabilities with AI. Pichai had previously stated that improving search with AI is a major focus for the company this year. Google’s goal is to enhance how users interact with search results. Recently, it included live video and screen-sharing features to Gemini AI assistant, allowing users to interact with the assistant in real-time.

Bringing more capabilities to AI Overviews could potentially reduce the need to click through to websites. The company has previously said that people who see AI Overviews are more likely to click on web results, especially when searching for complex topics.

After expanding AI Overviews to 100-plus countries globally, Google is also releasing the search feature to a wider audience. AI Overviews are now available to more people, including teenagers, without requiring a Google sign-in. 

Google is testing a new ‘AI Mode’ in Search

Google is also testing a new "AI Mode" in Search. The experiment, available in Labs, is designed to expand AI Overviews’ capabilities with “more advanced reasoning, thinking, and multimodal capabilities.”

AI Mode will allow users to ask follow-up questions and receive AI-generated responses with relevant web links. According to Google, this feature is particularly useful for complex queries that require deeper exploration. The tool is powered by a custom version of Gemini 2.0, bringing enhanced AI capabilities to Search.

AI Mode is currently being tested with a limited, opt-in experience. Google One AI Premium subscribers are among the first to try it in Labs. The feature supports multimodal search, meaning users can search using text, voice, and images for a more interactive experience.

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