Google Search goes full AI mode

Google on Tuesday announced a raft of generative artificial intelligence (AI) products as it takes on competitors in the AI race such as ChatGPT maker OpenAI.

At its annual developers conference, known as Google I/O, the tech giant’s CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that Google Search will get a new AI mode, building on the AI Overviews feature the company introduced last year.

AI Overviews summarizes search results from across the web. Now, Google says it is rolling out an AI Mode tab on the results page which will enable users to ask follow-up questions for better results.

This is easily Google's efforts to take on the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT, which has been incorporating search engine features into its chatbot.

And as AI research labs strive to polish their products to deal with hallucinations and misinformation, Google says AI Mode has more advanced reasoning and can take more complex queries, thanks to its Gemini 2.5 Flash model which the company is also using for AI Overviews.

At the same time, Google announced a $249.99 (about Ksh.32,000) “AI Ultra Plan,” for its AI assistant app, Gemini, which is also now fully replacing Google Assistant.

It gives users higher limits on AI and early access to experimental tools like Project Mariner, an internet browser extension that can automate keystrokes and mouse clicks, and Deep Think, a version of its top-shelf Gemini model that is more capable of reasoning through complicated tasks.

The plan also gives Google users 30 TB of cloud storage and an ad-free YouTube subscription.

In comparison, OpenAI has a Ksh.26,000-a-month ChatGPT subscription for advanced research use.

IMAGE, VIDEO GENERATION

Google’s AI image generator, Imagen 4, has gotten an update and the company says it can generate more detailed images with improved text rendering and detailed visuals.

Pichai also presented a new AI model called Veo 3 that generates video and audio to create more realistic film snippets for creators. It is a part of the AI Ultra subscription.

A new filmmaking tool dubbed Flow also gives one the ability to create video clips of up to 1080p.

Google is bringing AI to users’ shopping experience with virtual clothing try-ons using personal photos, and technology that can automatically search for desired items and purchase them when prices drop.

Once one looks up a product in the AI Mode, they will be able to "track price" on its listing and set the right size or variations, and the amount you want to spend.

“Keep an eye out for a price drop notification and, if you're ready to buy, just confirm the purchase details and tap 'buy for me'. Behind the scenes, we'll add the item to your cart on the merchant's site and securely complete the checkout on your behalf with Google Pay,” Google said.

The feature is rolling out to product listings in the U.S. in the coming months, the company added.

One will also try on apparel listings on themselves, just by uploading a full-length photo of themselves.