AI Mode could turn your next Google search into a conversation

Image credit: TechRadar (Image credit: Google)

Google searches might soon be a lot more conversational on Android devices thanks to artificial intelligence, judging from unreleased code discovered by 9to5 Google. The Search app may soon add an AI Mode combining interactive discussions and other features that make Google's foundational service act more than a little like the Gemini AI assistant.

AI Mode, referred to as AIM in the uncovered code, melds the human-like interactions of Gemini Live with Google Search and tosses in the visual understanding and analysis that you get from Google Lens. When in AIM, you'll be able to respond to what Google Search comes up with. Instead of just a list of results, you'll be able to ask follow-up questions, interrupt responses, and otherwise treat Search like it's Gemini Live.

AI Mode should be available as a tab in the Google app's bottom navigation bar if and when it rolls out. In addition to using your voice to search, you can also use photos taken with your phone or other uploaded ones. You can then explain what you want to search for concerning the image. One additional amusing bit of the code is that its placeholder is a winking emoticon.

Gemini or Search?

The idea of AI Mode in Google Search makes sense at first glance but raises a few questions in context. It appears to be so similar to Gemini that it is more of a variation of Gemini Live. That would fit with how Google seems keen to get people to use Gemini for everything. AI Mode isn't identical to Gemini Live, as AI Mode would offer a multimodal experience that combines text, voice, and images, but it's close enough to make it hard to know when you would use one over the other.

AI Mode might just be a road to a more comprehensive service. Augmenting Google Search with Lens's ability to ask questions about photos and videos and boosting the current voice interaction, which transcribes spoken requests, could pave the way for Google Search to become a facet of Gemini or vice versa. It could also change how we think about the most popular search engine in the world.

Instead of turning to Google to say “show me results,” we could simply ask it to “give me a direct, thoughtful answer.”

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Eric Hal Schwartz is a freelance writer for TechRadar with more than 15 years of experience covering the intersection of the world and technology. For the last five years, he served as head writer for Voicebot.ai and was on the leading edge of reporting on generative AI and large language models. He's since become an expert on the products of generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google Gemini, and every other synthetic media tool. His experience runs the gamut of media, including print, digital, broadcast, and live events. Now, he's continuing to tell the stories people want and need to hear about the rapidly evolving AI space and its impact on their lives. Eric is based in New York City.