Google is launching generative AI capabilities in Google Search in India. Starting Thursday, Google is rolling out the Search Generative Experience (SGE) in India as an opt-in experiment in Search Labs. This experience is available in English and Hindi.
Google claims that this can unlock entirely new types of questions one never thought Search could answer, and transform the way information is organized to help people sort through and make sense of what’s out there.
Puneesh Kumar, General Manager — Google Search, India, said, “With new generative AI capabilities in Search, we’re now taking more of the work out of searching. We’re envisioning a supercharged Search that does the heavy lifting for you so you’ll be able to understand a topic faster, uncover new viewpoints and insights, and get things done more easily. The Search Generative Experience is the first step we’re taking in this journey, and part of our vision to make Search radically more helpful. We’re excited to bring this to India, and look forward to receiving feedback and iterating on the experience alongside our users over the next few months.”
The company claims that by incorporating generative AI in search, people will see an AI-powered overview of key information to consider, with links to dig deeper. Especially for new internet users, who may often get overwhelmed with the amount of information online, finding an answer more quickly can help ease their journey of discovery.
For instance, a question like “Which is a good beginner trek in Himachal and how to prepare for it?” Normally, one might break this one question down into smaller ones, sort through the vast information available, and start to piece things together themself.
With generative AI, Search can do some of that heavy lifting. Below this overview, they’ll see suggested next steps where they can simply tap a query like “How to take great photos on a trek?”, or type in a specific follow-up question.
“This conversational mode enables people to intuitively learn more about the topic they’re exploring. Context will be carried over from question to question, to help people more naturally continue their exploration,” the press release said.
Google has also introduced India-focussed features in the Search Generative Experience that are unique to SGE in India. A person can switch from an English result to Hindi by tapping the language toggle button, listen to the response with Text-ToSpeech by tapping the ‘Listen’ button, and — rolling out soon — people will be able to tap the microphone icon in conversational mode to ask follow-up questions instead of typing them.
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Published on August 31, 2023
