is what Google’s new search experience with AI generative results will look like.

The new AI-powered Google Search Engine is here. We’ve been hearing rumors under the Code Name Magi.

Does it make you more ” visual and snackable? Yes.

You can access Google’s new Search generative experience through the Google Labs waiting list, but you will have to wait weeks before you are able to play around with it.

Don’t worry. You can get a first-hand look at the new Google Search AI experience.

The new Google Search Experience

The interface. Google’s new search experience could display an AI-generated response above the results. Google labels the answer Generative AI, experimental. This is followed by a response to your query.

The answer is enclosed in a box. Google lists the websites that it used to produce the answer. Clicking on those sites will take you to more information. You can also ask a second question, or click on the toggle button in the upper right corner to dig deeper.

• Google stated that “you’ll be shown a snapshot of important information with links to dig further.”

The generative AI will provide you with additional responses when you click on the expand button.

This is the GIF showing it in action.

Google provides you with websites and images in the clickable boxes that appear throughout the AI-generated answers. You can then click on the image to visit the website for more information.

Google stated that the color of the AI-generated answer box would change “to reflect specific journey types as well as the query intent,” Google said.

Vertical search using AI. It also works with vertical search results, like Google Shopping. Google has told us that SGE’s can retrieve 35 billion products from the Google Shopping Graph. This graph receives 1.8 billion updates per hour. To provide answers, the generative AI must update quickly, and almost in real time.

Google will give you good advice on what products to look for when you search for a specific type of product, like [bluetooth speakers for a pool-party]:

Conversations. Ask a Follow Up box. You can add more information or prompts. Google will generate a response.

• “Context is carried from question to answer, so that you can continue exploring more easily.” Google explains that the tool will also provide you with a variety of perspectives and useful jumping off points for web content.

Google explained that conversational mode was particularly useful for questions with follow-ups as well as complex information journeys or those that evolve.

• It uses AI to determine when someone is searching for a related question. Google explained that the system uses context from past questions to reformulate a query in a way that better reflects the user’s intent.

Why do we care? We use Google search a lot. was not easy to predict how generative AI will change the search experience. Now we have a better understanding.

Marketers will be relieved that Google doesn’t use generated text as a replacement for search results. (This would make no sense, given Google’s business plan). Publishers are relieved to see that there are many links to websites. As users, we should all be happy that the answers give us a good idea of the sources of the information.

What it does

Technology. Google stated that this new search experience utilizes a “variety” of LLMs, including but not limited MUM and PaLM2.

Google stated that this search experience is “specifically trained to perform tasks specific to Search including identifying high quality web results which corroborate information presented in output.”

Google’s refusal to answer certain questions. Liz Reid, Google’s VP for Search, said that Google wouldn’t answer every question you ask. Google has been careful to only show results for safe queries in this new version.

Google, for example, won’t display an answer to the question of whether or not you should give Tylenol to your child because that is a medical query. Google may not display answers to financial questions.

Sounds familiar? Google has a safe approach to YMYL categories (Your Money Your Life). Google has expanded YMYL so that it includes civic information.

• Google explained that the SGE was designed to not show content with such potential to be harmful, hateful or explicit.

Google said that this new experience is held to “an even higher standard” when it comes generating answers for certain queries, where the quality of information is critical.

Google said that this new search experience places “even more emphasis on producing informational responses that are corroborated with reliable sources.”

Google said that when it comes to “data gaps” or “information voids”, where its systems are less confident in their responses, they “aim to not generate a AI-powered snapshot”.

Google won’t respond to explicit or dangerous questions.

Google’s approach. Google’s approach to generative AI is based on five points:

1. Information Needs: What can Google do to make the search process more seamless and fluid?
2. Information Quality: Google’s AI must respond with high-quality information. Should Google respond to health-related or financial queries?
3. Safety Constraints: Should Google Provide First-Person Responses? Google should provide answers that are fluid and users can trust, but Google may not be able verify all of the answers.
4. Ecosystem Google is looking to give credit and traffic to the original content source. Google wants to create an experience which encourages users and searchers to explore further into these sources.
5. Ads – Can ads provide users with additional information?

Citations

We were all surprised by the absence of links and citations to publishers when Google introduced Bard. Google Bard rarely had links to publisher websites.

In Google’s search-generation experience, however, we can see a more healthy way to link to publishers and support the ecosystem.

The search results are not only based on specific websites but also include a thumbnail, title and URL that can be clicked to go directly to the publisher.

Google will not, however, directly cite a page or attribute it. Google’s AI model synthesizes data from multiple sources.

Google actually looks for factual confirmation across multiple sources before displaying the citations. These sources are usually high-quality. Google uses many of the signals it has been using for years to determine information quality.

Links to publisher websites. This screenshot shows the websites that were mentioned in your answer:

Toggle deeper. Click on the toggle button at the top-right to go deeper into the sources. The generative AI will then show you more answers and sources. This image shows an arrow pointing at the toggle button, which is directly above the links to websites:

Search results are below. You can also scroll down to access the classic search results in a “snackable format”. Here are some links to the search results in a more “boxed” format:

Dig deep: Why search marketing is important

Take AI seriously

Google has also spoken about their AI Principles, and stressed that they take these AI technologies very seriously.

Google stated that it was taking a “responsible and deliberate” approach to adding new AI-generated capabilities to Search.

This Bard is not Bard . Bard was created to show what the LLM model can do. This experience was designed specifically for search, and it works differently as shown above.

Google’s search quality raters will be doing some testing in the coming weeks, before it is released to the public.

With the first round of approvals, you will be in a position to sign up to the waitlist to test out the new search experience over the next few weeks.

This story was first published on Search Engline Land. Kim Davis contributed to this story.

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