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Google‘s stalwart search button has a new neighbor: AI Mode.
The artificial intelligence feature is being tested directly beneath the Google search bar beside a “Google Search” button, replacing the “I’m Feeling Lucky” widget. The new feature, though not widely available yet, is being tested in a location where Google rarely makes changes.
A company spokesperson confirmed the feature began rolling out to some users over the last week.
The spokesperson said the company tests many experiments with its users of “Labs,” Google’s experimental unit that tests new features for those who opt-in. They added that tested products don’t always go on to launch broadly.
The latest feature test shows Google is considering using its most valuable real estate to expose users to its AI technology as it continues to be under pressure to compete in generative AI-driven search.
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, Alphabet investors have been concerned that OpenAI could take market share from Google in search by giving consumers new ways to seek information online.
In October, OpenAI pushed further and launched “ChatGPT search,” positioning the company to better compete with search engines like Google, Microsoft‘s Bing and Perplexity. Microsoft has invested close to $14 billion in OpenAI, yet OpenAI’s products directly compete with Microsoft’s AI and search tools, such as Copilot and Bing.
Though the company’s flagship AI product Gemini has shown equal or better performance than top competition, it has been trying to grow its user base to compete with ChatGPT.
Google’s Gemini AI product has 35 million daily active users, according to a recent Google analysis revealed during an antitrust court session in April. That was compared to ChatGPT’s estimated 160 million daily active users, the analysis stated.
Google is testing using “AI Mode” on its most valuable real estate: It’s home webpage.
The Alphabet-owned company began testing home page designs internally in 2023, CNBC first reported. At the time, one potential design showed the home search page offering five different prompts for potential questions placed beneath the main search bar, replacing the current “I’m feeling lucky” bar. It also tested a small chat logo inside the far right end of the search bar.
Google in March announced it would be testing “AI Mode” for select users, however the description showed it would be testing the widget on Google’s results page — not its home page. In its March announcement, the company billed it as an early experiment in Labs to do “more advanced reasoning, thinking and multimodal capabilities so you can get help with even your toughest questions.”
The company this week launched an investment fund called “AI Futures Fund,” aimed at investing in AI startups. The company said eligible startups would have early access to its AI models.
