Lately, Google has been all about AI and integrating it into its products. Just check out the latest Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro- packed with AI-powered features. Now, it is Google Search’s turn to get a boost with updates driven, once again, by artificial intelligence.
Google is experimenting with ways to enhance your search experience, like creating images to bring your ideas to life or getting help with a written draft. The tech giant is rolling out the ability to generate images and written drafts using generative AI-powered Search experience (SGE).
Ever had trouble finding that perfect image in your mind’s eye? The new SGE is designed to address just that. Google’s example involves a capybara. Here’s the rundown: Let’s say you want to make a card for a friend who loves cooking and adores capybaras. You search for something like “draw a picture of a capybara wearing a chef’s hat and cooking breakfast,” and voila! SGE gives you up to four generated images in the results.
When you tap on any of those images, you will see how generative AI has fleshed out your initial query with descriptive details, like “a photorealistic image of a capybara wearing a chef’s hat and cooking breakfast in a forest, grilling bacon.” You can then edit the description for even more detail. This new feature works similarly to existing AI image generators like DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, and MidJourney.
While AI opens exciting possibilities, Google tries to be mindful of responsible use. Safeguards are being built-in to block the creation of images that violate the prohibited use policy for generative AI, including harmful or misleading content.
Each image generated through SGE will have metadata labeling and embedded watermarking to show it is AI-created. TikTok already has done this, and Meta also wants to start labeling AI content to help users identify AI-generated content.
Google Search’s new image generation capability is currently only available in English in the United States for users 18 years or older who opted into the SGE experiment.
But that is not all, as Google also introduces written drafts in SGE. When you are researching a project or topic in Search, you often seek writing ideas and inspiration. With SGE, you can make your draft shorter or change the tone to be more casual.
In its blog post, Google also spills the beans about an upcoming tool called “About this Image” to help you assess the context and credibility of images. For instance, it might show you when a similar version of an image was first seen by Google or display other web pages using a similar image, including news or fact-checking sites.
