Tags: Search

Google has introduced three new AI-driven features aimed at making travel planning faster and more intuitive. The upgrades include Canvas for Travel, an interactive itinerary builder; an expanded AI-powered Flight Deals search that works globally; and broader agentic booking capabilities that let users reserve restaurants, event tickets and appointments directly from Search. Together, these tools blend real‑time data from Google Flights, Hotels, Maps and partner services, allowing users to craft personalized travel plans with fewer clicks and less hassle. Weiterlesen

AI chatbots are emerging as alternatives to traditional search engines, offering conversational answers and direct links to sources. Microsoft’s Copilot, which accesses the internet, demonstrates how users can obtain quick information on topics ranging from movies to health advice. While the technology simplifies queries, experts caution that users must verify answers, watch for hallucinations, and avoid sharing personal data. The evolving tools, including free and paid versions like Copilot Pro, are reshaping how people find information online. Weiterlesen

Google is rolling out its new AI model, Nano Banana, across several of its products. The model powers a major upgrade to image editing in Google Photos and adds a richer set of video‑generation styles to NotebookLM, including whiteboard, anime, retro print, and the original Classic mode. Users can now choose between Brief and Explainer video formats and steer the output with prompts. While a firm timeline isn’t set, Google says Nano Banana will appear in the Photos app within weeks, promising smoother conversational edits and a more consistent generative experience. Weiterlesen

Google's Nano Banana AI image editor, which went viral after its launch, is being rolled out across several existing Google products. The tool now powers new visual features in NotebookLM, adds chat‑based image creation and editing in Search, and is slated to appear in Google Photos in the coming weeks. Early rollout begins with US English users and Google Pro accounts, with broader availability planned soon. Weiterlesen

Google has woven AI, powered by Gemini, into many of its core products such as Search, Gmail, Docs, and Calendar. While the features can be helpful, users who prefer to limit AI can adjust their settings to disable most of the smart capabilities. By navigating the Gmail settings and the Google Labs experiment, users can turn off Workspace smart features, reduce AI Overviews, and apply simple tricks like adding "-ai" to search queries. These steps allow a more traditional experience without permanently removing the ability to re‑enable the features later. Weiterlesen

Google has extended its AI‑powered Search mode to 40 more countries and 35 additional languages, bringing the feature to over 200 nations and territories. The rollout follows the initial US launch on June 27 and showcases the growing capabilities of Google’s Gemini models. According to Hema Budaraju, vice president of Google Search product management, the expansion lets users ask questions in their preferred language and benefits from the system’s improved natural‑language understanding and multimodal features. Weiterlesen

Google is rolling out its AI Mode chatbot in Search to dozens of new regions and dozens of additional languages. The expansion follows an early‑March test in the Labs program and a May rollout to all U.S. users. New language support includes Arabic, Chinese, several European languages, Malay, Russian, Thai, Vietnamese and more, with further additions such as Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and Brazilian Portuguese announced in early September. Google says its custom Gemini model enables nuanced, multimodal understanding across languages, while publishers warn the AI summaries may be reducing web traffic. Weiterlesen

Google announced enhancements to AI Mode in Search, adding visual‑based answers that let users see images directly within the AI tab. The update builds on Google Lens technology, letting users request design inspiration, refine image results, and upload photos for search. Shopping queries now accept natural‑language descriptions, delivering retailer links without manual filters. The changes aim to keep Google competitive with AI‑driven rivals and to shift search toward intent‑based interactions while maintaining traffic quality for publishers. Weiterlesen

Google announced that its AI Mode, an advanced chatbot feature within Google Search, is now available in Spanish across all countries that support the service. The rollout follows earlier language additions—including Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and Brazilian Portuguese—demonstrating the company’s rapid expansion of AI-driven search capabilities. Spanish speakers will be able to ask complex questions in their native language, enhancing the conversational experience beyond traditional search results. Weiterlesen

Google is joining forces with the U.K. nonprofit StopNCII to strengthen its fight against nonconsensual intimate images, often called revenge porn. By using StopNCII’s image hashes, Google will proactively identify and remove such content from its search results. The partnership builds on existing tools that let users request removals and improve ranking to reduce visibility. The approach keeps original images on users’ devices, uploading only the digital fingerprint. The move follows similar integrations by Microsoft Bing and aligns Google with a growing list of platforms that have adopted StopNCII’s system. Weiterlesen

Google announced an experimental desktop application for Windows that lets users instantly search their computer, installed apps, Google Drive files, and the web using an Alt + Space shortcut. Modeled after macOS Spotlight, the app integrates Google Lens and an AI‑powered search mode, offering dark‑mode support and multilingual options. It is distributed through Google’s Search Labs program and currently runs on Windows 10 or later in English for U.S. users. Weiterlesen

Google is reportedly weighing a shift from its traditional list‑of‑links search results to an AI‑driven "AI Mode" that offers conversational answers powered by Gemini. Lead product manager Logan Kilpatrick hinted at the possibility, while Google Search vice‑president Robby Stein cautioned against reading too much into the comments. Publishers have already noted traffic declines from AI Overviews that answer queries without clicks, and a default AI Mode could amplify those effects. The company continues to promote AI Mode through a dedicated homepage and reports millions of active users, signaling a potential strategic pivot for how users discover information online. Weiterlesen

Google announced that its AI Mode chatbot, integrated into Search, is now available in Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and Brazilian Portuguese. The expansion follows a rapid rollout that began with an English‑only version, later opened to the United States, the United Kingdom and India, and now reaches users in more than 180 countries. The update leverages Google’s custom Gemini 2.5 Pro model and adds deeper multimodal and reasoning capabilities. While the company claims the web remains stable, a recent court filing acknowledges a rapid decline in open‑web traffic, a development publishers hope the multilingual AI features may help mitigate. Weiterlesen

Google has added a new Preferred Sources option that lets users prioritize selected publishers in Top Stories results. By checking a box for a chosen source, the site appears more prominently in search, and a dedicated From Your Sources section may be shown. Users can set preferences through a provided link or directly in the Top Stories module. The move follows recent algorithm updates that have affected traffic to many outlets, and aims to give readers more control over the sources they see. Weiterlesen

Apple is developing an internal AI search platform, reportedly called World Knowledge Answers, that could be integrated into Siri, Safari and the Spotlight interface. The effort follows a lukewarm reception to Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024 and a planned Siri relaunch slated for 2026. Apple has experimented with Google’s Gemini to power the assistant and remains open to acquisitions, with rumors circling a potential bid for Perplexity. By adding an AI‑driven search capability, Apple hopes to close the gap with rivals such as Google and Microsoft, which already embed AI chatbots in their products. Weiterlesen

A federal judge has issued tentative remedies in the Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit against Google, requiring the company to abandon exclusive agreements that tie its search services to other products. While Google will not be broken up, the order mandates data sharing with qualified competitors and the removal of conditions that link Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, or Gemini to app distribution or revenue arrangements. The ruling aims to prevent further anticompetitive behavior and will be refined in a final judgment due later this year. Weiterlesen