Google to begin organizing some search results using AI, bringing ads to AI Overview

Google (GOOG, GOOGL) is bringing some big AI updates to its main Search platform and Google Lens visual search software. On Thursday the company announced it will start rolling out AI-organized search results pages for users in the US. The tech giant also says it’s bringing the ability to search for information about live videos shot in its Lens app. Google says Lens is one of its fastest-growing types of search and is especially popular with users between 18 and 24.

Importantly for both investors and advertisers, Google also said it’s adding ads to its AI-powered AI Overview in Search, as well as an updated look for AI Overview that the company says will improve traffic to linked websites.

The updates are part of Google’s broader effort to further monetize its vast investments in generative AI technologies. Shares of Google were largely flat immediately following the announcements.

Google says its AI-organized search results will be available to users seeking open-ended answers or queries that don’t have one true correct response. That, at first, will begin with recipes and meal inspiration in mobile search.

Google says the feature provides more “content and perspectives from across the web” and that in testing users found AI-generated search results to be more helpful in general.

With Google’s Lens update, the company says you’ll be able to open the app, hold down the shutter button, and ask questions using voice about moving objects you see in front of you. In one example, Google said you’d be able to point your phone’s camera at a school of fish and ask why they’re all swimming in a circle.

The company previewed the technology at its I/O developer conference in May, showing how you’d be able to point your phone’s camera at a record player and ask it why its arm keeps moving off of the record. In the pre-recorded demo, Lens pulled up an AI Overview response explaining what might be wrong with the player and standard search results identifying its model number.

The feature is only available for Search Lab users via the Google app and only supports English questions for now. But if it proves reliable when it’s released to a wider user base, it’s easy to see how Lens with video could be useful for users who want to ask simple questions about things like home repairs and more.

Lens is also getting some updates for its shopping feature, including access to Google’s Shopping Graph, which the company says will provide users with prices using photos of items, reviews of those products, and where they can be purchased.

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Visual search is one of the next major AI battlegrounds for tech companies. Google’s Lens app has been around for years. The company debuted its Circle to Search function, which lets you snap a picture and circle an item or object you want to learn more about, earlier this year.

Apple (AAPL) is also looking to get in on the visual search game later this year with its visual intelligence feature for iPhones with the new Camera Control button. Like Google Lens and Circle to Search, visual intelligence will identify objects and places using your phone’s camera, though Apple doesn’t mention if it will work with video.

In addition to updates to Search and Lens, Google says it’s officially bringing ads to US AI Overview users. The company says it’s seen positive feedback in testing ads in AI Overview and that they’ve helped users quickly connect with businesses related to their search queries.

That’s sure to keep investors and advertisers happy, as both groups were initially hesitant about how AI Overview might impact how Google displays ads in search results. Advertising is still Google’s biggest business, despite gains in its cloud computing segment, and is likely to continue to dominate as its biggest revenue stream for the foreseeable future.

Getting ads right in AI Overview is of the utmost importance for Google as it continues to expand its generative AI technologies across its various platforms. Search is still Google’s most popular business, but adding generative AI to apps like YouTube will also need careful consideration to avoid annoying users or advertisers.

Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.

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