Image: Triyansh Gill on Unsplash
Google has announced some major updates to search, using AI-powered tools to expand visual and audio capabilities.
Ask questions with video
Using Google Lens you will now be able to ask a question while taking a video. Google gave the example of someone at an aquarium, verbally asking a question about the moving images they were recording.
The AI will make sense of the video and the question, and produce an AI Overview in response.
The feature is currently available for Search Labs users enrolled in the AI Overviews experiment and supports queries in English.
Ask questions with a photo
Another new feature, which is now live, is the ability to use voice to ask questions when you take a photo in Lens. Previously, you had to type in your question.
Just point your camera, hold down the shutter button and ask your question.
This feature is available globally in the Google app for queries in English.
Shopping updates in Lens
Google is continuing to bring AI-powered updates to the shopping experience in Lens.
A new results page shows more helpful product information, including reviews, price comparisons and where to buy. The feature is being rolled out now in selected countries.
Google says Shopping ads will appear above and alongside visual search results by the end of the year.
Google says Lens is now used for nearly 20 billion visual searches per month.
With 20 percent of those searches being shopping-related, it offers advertisers a valuable opportunity to showcase their products to potential buyers.
These updates, along with AI-organized search results and ads in AI Overviews mark both a significant expansion in capabilities and Google integrating its generative AI models more deeply into its core products.
