Google search as you know it is over

The era of “ten blue links” is over.

At its Google I / O conference on Tuesday, Google unveiled an AI-powered search based on the “intelligent search box” – which the company describes as the biggest change to the Internet since the search box began more than 25 years ago.

Instead of returning a simple list of links, Google Search drops users into an AI-driven experience in some cases. Google is also introducing tools that can deploy “data assistants” to collect information on the user’s behalf, as well as tools that allow users to create small apps tailored to their needs.

The results will no longer look like the way people see Google Search, which has long been defined by links to websites that contain the information you’re looking for.

With the updated Search, the new search box expands to answer more questions, instead of making you choose the type of search or the type you want to select at the beginning of your query. It will also feature a new AI-powered query generation system that goes beyond simple completion to help people create more complex and complex queries, Google says.

Google’s AI Overviews will also allow users to ask follow-up questions in AI Mode, starting Tuesday, the company said.

Google is also bringing artificial intelligence and AI functionality into search. This means that people will waste less time clicking on the blue links that Google Search used to return.

Starting this summer, people will be able to create, edit, and manage new “data assistants” in Google Search. These agents can work in the background 24/7 to keep track of online updates and keep you updated. For example, you can have marketing campaigns based on customers, Google suggests.

Although the current technology is powered by AI, which makes it more capable, the concept itself is not new.

In 2003, Google was founded Google Alertsa change detection service that sends users emails when new web results match their search criteria. The web was small and portable back then, so this became part of many staff tools. (That service is still available in some way but it was no longer a way for most users to get new information.)

Helpers collect information and update Google Alerts. In addition to visible changes, they are also able to perceive.

“You can send an alert to follow market trends in a specific sector with specific shares, and the agent will write you an analysis plan, including the tools and data needed to find it – such as our real financial data,” Google Search Director, Liz Reid, explained briefly. “And it will track those changes and let you know when they’re done, and I’ll give you updates with links and information you can follow,” he added.

The change means that “online searches” will be done more by AI assistants than by humans. Instead, people will focus on taking action on what the sponsor offers instead of manually clicking on the links.

Links will be smart with the upcoming changes to search results, which are based on Google’s previous AI search initiatives, such as its AI Overviews and its search engine, AI Mode.

AI views are now used by more than 2.5 billion monthly users; Meanwhile, its interactive search platform, launched last year, now tops 1 billion monthly users. (ChatGPT, by comparison, is 900 million users every weekfrom earlier this year. (This suggests that ChatGPT is now seeing more frequent engagement, with users coming back again and again throughout the week, while Google has unique people engaging with its AI features within a month.)

Now, because of the combination of Gemini and Google AntigravityThe company’s development platform, Search results will begin to appear as social media pages.

“Search can shape your search experience, from powerful, visually appealing designs to compelling and familiar sites that you’ll return to again and again,” says Reid. One of the ways Google incorporates this new technology is through “generative UI” (user interface), where it creates widgets and screens on the fly in response to users’ search queries.

You can imagine, for example, how a question about black holes in space could lead to an interactive image that brings the idea to life, Reid said, adding that users can ask follow-up questions and see Google respond with new images in real time.

Google says the new machine was developed in collaboration with the Google DeepMind team and uses Gemini Flash 3.5. It will be offered to everyone who uses Google, for free, this summer.

Additionally, Google will allow users to tap into Antigravity to create custom, customizable experiences — think “miniature apps” — directly into Search using natural language rules. Again, this isn’t so much about returns as much as it is. For example, you can create a meal planning program using information from your calendar to help you decide what to prepare and when to eat, or an exercise program designed for your specific goals.

Combined, these changes could result in Google not being able to deliver to publishers, who have already suffered from a decline in referrals due to AI Overviews. This has put ad-dependent TV stations out of business, and now things could get worse.

There is little time left for publishers to change. A new search box is arriving this week, and an improved UI is arriving this summer. All are free. The mini-app builder and information assistant will start signing up for Google AI Pro and Ultra this summer.

But Google’s long-term plans are to make its AI technology more accessible, including its AI assistant Spark, which will eventually be free, as will most of its AI.

“One of the reasons we’re focused on providing borderline models – more capable, and more efficient, faster, and cheaper – is because we want to bring it to as many people as possible, so I think that’s where we’ll shine,” Google CEO Sundar Photosi said in a press release ahead of I/O.