What will Gemini AI do in web search? Google announces extension for former Bard chatbot
Google is set to make its Gemini AI programme more prominent within the Android network in the latest step in the battle for chatbot supremacy.
TechRadar has reported that prototypes of the new-look search engine show a button which will allow easy access to Gemini, which recently updated from its working name of Bard.
“With new generative AI capabilities in search, we’re now taking more of the work out of searching, so you’ll be able to understand a topic faster, uncover new viewpoints and insights, and get things done more easily,” a statement read.
The change means that, with the flick of a switch, you can get an artificial response in written text to your query. For example, searching ‘Best restaurants in Camden’ into Google search will bring up news articles ranking them.
But the same search, run through Gemini, will bring up a list that amalgamates all of these – offering tips from Open Table, Tripadvisor, and Design My Night. “Camden has a wide variety of restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets,” the chatbot helpfully states.
Rather than, at present, needing to access the separate site, it seems like Google is set to make its chatbot part and parcel.
This will make it easier, Google says, to get better results from search by asking a follow-up question. For example, you can currently ask, “What outfit would look good for a summer’s night in Walthamstow?” Once it has given some suggestions, you could then ask, “What about shoes?” without having to start the process over again.
The statement added: “Context will be carried over from question to question, to help you more naturally continue your exploration. You’ll also find helpful jumping-off points to web content and a range of perspectives that you can dig into.”
And it won’t stop there. Gemini is also, according to Pianika Web, soon set to appear on the official Google app for the first time. Updates to Google smartphones will also make the app more prevalent to browsing.
Google has been trialling an incoming evolution to Gemini’s prominence since last May.CNN has hinted that the changes could be adopted in May, although there has been no official announcement.
Google might need to make the changes to steal a march on its competition, with ChatGPT 5 just around the corner, former Open AI developers putting Claude live, and Elon Musk making Grok available on Twitter.
