Generative AI Expands in Google Search: A Leap Towards Globalization

• Google
• Generative AI
• Search Engine

Photo from blog.google

In a significant stride towards globalization, Google's Generative AI in Search has expanded its reach to more than 120 new countries and territories. This expansion signifies a commitment to serving a more comprehensive range of information needs and making content discovery more accessible.

"The science of today is the technology of tomorrow." - Edward Teller

AI-Powered Search: A New Frontier

Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE) is an AI-powered feature that combines the most relevant information for a search query. The initiative is already making waves in the United States, India, and Japan, garnering predominantly positive feedback. Users have found generative AI helpful for complex questions they wouldn’t typically consider searching.

In its most significant global expansion, Google brings generative AI in Search to over 120 new countries and territories. This expansion also supports four new languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and Indonesian. These additions reinforce Google's commitment to making its AI-powered search experience more interactive and accessible.

Search Labs: An Early-Stage Testing Ground

Google's Search Labs is a platform for testing early-stage experiments on Search. Once enrolled in Search Labs, users can enable the SGE experiment to explore its capabilities. This feature is now available in the new countries via Chrome desktop, with the Google app expected to follow suit over the coming week.

Improving User Experience with Follow-Up Questions

Google learned from testing generative AI in Search that users appreciate the ability to ask follow-up questions, as this mimics natural conversation. In response, Google is experimenting with ways for users to ask follow-up questions directly from the search results page. This feature will enable users to see their prior questions and search results, facilitating a deeper exploration of topics.

Adding Context to Translations

Translating from one language to another often involves guesswork, especially when a word has multiple meanings. Generative AI in Search addresses this challenge by underlining terms with more than one possible meaning. Users can then tap these words to indicate the specific meaning they intend. This feature will initially be available for English-to-Spanish translations in the United States, with plans to cover more countries and languages shortly.

Expanding Definitions for Coding and Health Information

Google recently introduced an interactive way to see definitions for educational topics such as science, economics, or history on AI-powered overviews. This functionality is now being extended to areas including coding and health information. Users can hover over highlighted words to preview their definitions or view related images. This update is rolling out in English in the United States, with more countries and languages expected to be included soon.