Google has announced a series of new features for its Search engine, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The company said it is redesigning Search to make it more natural and intuitive, while also connecting users to more relevant and inspiring content.
MUM: A new technology to understand complex queries
One of the key innovations that Google showcased at its Search On event is Multitask Unified Model (MUM), a new AI technology that can understand complex and nuanced queries across text, images, and videos. MUM can also handle multiple tasks at once, such as translating languages, finding information, and generating insights.
For example, Google demonstrated how MUM can help users explore new topics they are interested in, such as acrylic painting. MUM can identify over 350 different aspects of acrylic painting, such as how to get started, different styles, tips, and techniques. It can also suggest related topics that users may not have thought of, such as how to make acrylic paintings with household items.
Google said it will launch a new feature called “Things to know” in the coming months, which will use MUM to show users the most common and useful aspects of a topic they are searching for. The feature will also allow users to zoom into any aspect they want to learn more about, and see a visually rich page of results from across the web.
New ways to refine and broaden searches
Google also announced new ways to help users refine and broaden their searches without having to start over with a new query. The company said it will use AI to understand the intent and context of a search, and offer suggestions to help users explore different aspects or perspectives of a topic.
For example, if a user is searching for “indoor vertical garden ideas”, Google may offer suggestions such as “how to make an indoor vertical garden”, “best plants for indoor vertical gardens”, or “indoor vertical garden kits”. Users can then tap on any suggestion to see a page of results that include articles, images, videos, and more.
Google said these pages are designed to help users find inspiration and discover new ideas for their searches. The feature is already available on mobile devices for some topics, such as “Halloween decorating ideas” or “acrylic painting ideas”.
Video search gets smarter and richer
Google also revealed how it is improving video search with AI. The company said it already uses AI to identify key moments inside videos, such as when a recipe starts or when a product is reviewed. Now, it will also use AI to identify the topics in a video, even if they are not explicitly mentioned in the video.
For example, if a user is watching a video about how to make pizza dough, Google may identify topics such as “pizza toppings”, “pizza sauce”, or “pizza oven”. Users can then click on any topic to see more information and related videos.
Google said this feature will make video search more interactive and informative, and help users learn more from videos. The feature will roll out later this year for some videos in English.
