Google finally began its process of experimenting with generative AI in May 2023 with the release of “Search Generative Experience.” Ever since the release of Bard, Google has been contemplating integrating the features of generative AI with its existing search engine. This comes at a time when competitors like Microsoft have done the same with Bing, using ChatGPT to support the generative AI aspect of web search. Search Generative Experience is currently an experimental exploration into AI searches on Google’s platform, informing developers and users of the extant capabilities of the underlying language model and how it responds to various queries. Currently, Google SGE (Search Generative Experience) is a part of the firm’s Search Labs initiative. The feature is available to users who are currently on the Search Labs waitlist.
The premise of Google SGE is to present a conversational overview of users’ queries and provide a source-supported answer drawn from popular search results. Search generative experience allows users to ask questions conversationally, essentially enabling people to present more complex queries when compared to the average search engine. Language model artificial intelligence has been a key focus for Google ever since the massive success of its biggest competitor—ChatGPT. While Google’s existing search engine already includes a variety of AI-supported features, its foray into a generative AI-supported search engine is a novel effort aimed at enhancing its existing framework’s utilities. The upcoming sections explore the features of Google’s SGE and what it offers to users.
Google’s Generative AI Tools: How Does Search Generative Experience Work?
Generative AI and search engine results come together in Google’s Search Generative Experience.
SGE is designed as an experimental version of Google’s search engine. Its primary purpose is to promote better search results and exploration of the internet, allowing users to find better answers to their complex queries. Apart from conversing with the user regarding search results and answers to questions, Google SGE also makes fixes to code and provides basic assistance to those stuck with programming concerns. While this feature might not be as advanced as Google’s dedicated coding assistant or OpenAI’s ChatGPT Code Interpreter, SGE still makes a decent attempt at problem-solving. Search Generative Experience looks to answer queries right on the results page, making it easier for users to take a look at the other web searches. This is in addition to having a conversational assistant to condense and compose the information presented through the search results. SGE often displays cards with information on the pages used by the AI to structure its response. While Google’s AI search engine experiment does not provide citations to the mentioned sources, it still loosely presents the web pages to where the information can be traced back.
The SGE search is endowed with a degree of contextual understanding, allowing it to decode the intent behind a user’s questions. Essentially, it enables the framework to draft a response most pertinent to the user’s question and the intent behind it. Generative AI tools have slowly begun taking over several web search platforms, and the results have been promising. Apart from the major players, startups such as YouChat and Perplexity have also been proven to produce excellent results, allowing users to go over a distilled version of their search results interactively. Google’s SGE relies primarily on the efficient PaLM 2 model as well as the Multitask Unified Model, which offers seamless flow of language and has been optimized with its counterpart to provide coherent and straightforward responses.
Key Features of Google’s Experimental AI Search Engine
SGE includes both the generic search results page along with the conversational aspect of generative AI.
To put it simply, Google Search Generative Experience integrates the potential of generative AI with the search engine results page (SERP), allowing users to access both the results and a summarized version of the responses they seek. Apart from the general summary, SGE also offers straightforward answers to simple questions and can provide definitions of specific terms. The underlying language model PaLM 2 is also used in other, more niche use cases. This is seen in MedPaLM 2—a modification of the parent model to suit medical requirements and become a healthcare-oriented chatbot. A good deal of SGE’s capabilities are yet to be known, since the availability of the experimental approach varies based on the location of the user and whether or not they’ve signed up to Google Search Labs’ program. Search Generative Experience does not do away with the regular search results unlike many other competitors. It aims to provide a streamlined approach to both the conventional and generative AI aspects of web search.
Google’s Search Generative Experience has several implications for a variety of different domains and businesses, given that its integration will alter the way advertisements, promotions, and search engine optimization will work. Going forward, these professionals might have to alter their approach to factor in the AI and machine learning component to remain competitive and to produce accessible content on the platform. Currently, search works based on keeping track of a variety of parameters and also uses AI in the background to rank the results. However, SGE is Google’s first attempt in integrating generative artificial intelligence with the core search element of its offerings. Search Generative Experience’s response is placed above the search results, allowing users to read the condensed information before getting to the individual results.
The Future of Google SGE
SGE shows Google’s intent to revolutionize its web search and indexing approach due to the growing market for AI.
The market for AI search engines has grown, warranting Google’s response. With it, SGE brings a variety of new features that developers are actively testing to include with the famed search engine’s official AI features. Learnings from Bard and other language model projects shall lead to better understanding of how generative AI behaves to evolving use cases. Tools like these will end up changing the way search and reference work on the internet, essentially bringing forth a new era of an AI-aided internet browsing experience. However, it’s just as important for major firms to stick by features and tenets of responsible AI to prevent misuse of these tools while also preventing security breaches and other untoward incidents. Moreover, reinforcing security protocols will be integral in understanding the approach of generative AI search engines.
FAQs
1. How do I use Google’s Search Generative Experience?
Users must be subscribed to Google’s Search Labs to get on a waitlist. Users on this list are then progressively given access to Google SGE. Google Search Labs is available through the browser on Google’s homepage. It can also be accessed through the Google application on Android and iOS.
2. What is Google Search Generative Experience?
Google SGE entails the use of generative AI to support search results and compile them into an easily consumable, summarized format for users. SGE provides a conversational interface where users can ask their queries, while also displaying key search results below the generative AI interface.
3. Is Google SGE free?
Since Google SGE is still in its experimental stages, it is still free. However, it can only be accessed by people on the Search Labs waitlist.