Google is now allowing users into its AI search experiment. And with the new development, the new search generative experience of Google will change the way search results look, that is, immediately you get off the waitlist, of course.
Google AI Search Experiment
A couple of Google users are about to start seeing a very different type of search results. The company recently announced this morning that it is now opening up access to Search Labs, which is its new home for testing search features. Labs as you should know is still very much guarded by a waitlist, and it is still not clear as to just how quickly Google intends to allow people in, but just two weeks after announcing Labs at Google I/O, the company is at least starting to ship the feature and tool.
The most interesting feature in Labs however is the Search Generative Experience, which inputs an AI-generated summary at the top of search results across all of Google. You get to ask for information about The Defenestration of Prague, and rather than just direct you to Wikipedia or the infamous “10 blue links” Google.” Google will then generate a couple of paragraphs of information and then offer you a few links for further reading.
The Biggest Change in the History of Google Search
SGE as you have thought may be the biggest change in the history of Google Search, and it is going to be quite fascinating to see what early users get to encounter. It could have significant ramifications for just how people search and even what they get to search for. It’s really going to totally upend the SEO industry, as everyone will now fight to be in the AI summary rather than in the links that are now pushed down below.
And if users mostly get what they are looking for from the summaries and thus don’t click off the page just as often, it could get to change the whole business model of the web. Google has at most times talked about being both bold and responsible in its rollout of AI, but right now that these features will be in the hands of users, all bets are off the table.
Other Features of LABS
And in addition to SGE, Labs will also include two other features which are: Add to Sheets, which will put a button next to every link that is in your search results that will add that link to the Google Sheet of your choosing; and as well as Code Tips, which will be a large language model-based system that is specifically for helping you to write and fix code. A spreadsheet button does not exactly boggle the mind, but the fact that this is in Labs is actually telling. Google Search is so huge and so important that the company will not even add a tiny hidden icon without testing it out.
Google and Its Testing
Google is doing quite a lot of testing at the moment, by the way. You can now sign up to get into the Workspace Labs just to test AI features in Gmail and Docs, mess around in the new Tailwind AI-powered notebook, and even get to play with Google’s text-to-music generator. And when it comes to searching, if you are not on the waitlist already, you can now sign up at the Search Labs page. If on the other hand, you are already signed up, then you will get an email as to when you are able to get into Labs and then see how AI will change the way you search.
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