Google Expands Availability of Generative AI-Powered Search Engine
Google (GOOG, GOOGL) is expanding availability of the generative AI-powered version of its search engine, dubbed Search Generative Experience (SGE), outside of the US. The software, which the company says is still an experiment, will soon be available in India and Japan.
Testing SGE in Different Languages
SGE serves as a testbed for a future in which Google Search is intertwined with the conversational interface of a generative AI chatbot. India and Japan will allow Google to better gauge how SGE works at scale in different languages.
In India, the app will offer support for both Hindi and English, as well as voice search and audio responses. Users in both Japan and India will have to opt into using SGE.
Improved Links in Generative AI Responses
- Google is improving the way links to web pages appear in generative AI responses.
- Generative AI answers will feature arrows next to them indicating drop down menus.
- Clicking on the drop down menu will show the websites where the search engine grabbed its information from.
User Reception of SGE
Google also offered a handful of insights into how early users are receiving SGE.
- Users between the ages of 18- and 24-years-old show the highest rate of satisfaction.
- Users like being able to ask follow-up questions to their initial search queries.
- SGE helps users quickly find what they’re looking for.
Ads in SGE
Reinventing the search engine experience meant figuring out how ads would live alongside the SGE box.
- Users are finding ads either above or below the large SGE box on the screen.
- Google assures that users are still finding ads in SGE, showing that it won’t negatively impact its ad business.
Google vs Microsoft in the Generative AI Space
SGE isn’t the only generative AI-powered search engine in town, though. Microsoft (MSFT) has been offering its generative AI-powered version of Bing search for months, giving it a sizable lead over Google, which is still testing SGE.
Microsoft is intent on stealing market share from Google bit by bit by keeping ahead in the generative AI space. In February, the Windows maker said that just 1% of market share in Search is worth $2 billion.
The two companies are locked in a back-and-forth over which will run away with the AI crown. Microsoft has been adding generative AI capabilities to both its consumer and enterprise products, including its Microsoft 365 productivity software.
On Tuesday, Google responded with its Duet AI in Workspace and Duet AI in Google Cloud. Adding to the competitive showdown, Google priced Duet AI in Workspace at $30 per month per user, the same amount Microsoft is charging for its Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Daniel Howley is the tech editor at Yahoo Finance. He’s been covering the tech industry since 2011. You can follow him on Twitter @DanielHowley.
Click here for the latest technology business news, reviews, and useful articles on tech and gadgets
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
