Google's AI Mode: Expanded Access and Image Search Integration
Google is **expanding** access to its **AI Mode** search tool to millions more users in the US. This new feature, initially launched last month, is Google's attempt to create a search experience similar to **ChatGPT**. It allows users to ask more **complex questions** and receive **nuanced, AI-generated responses** powered by a custom version of Gemini 2.0.
AI Mode is accessible through a dedicated tab within Google Search for users enrolled in the Google Labs beta program. Labs provides a way for users to **test new Search features** before they are released to the general public.
Multimodal Capabilities with Lens Integration
In addition to broader access, Google is also unlocking AI Mode's **multimodal capabilities**. Users can now **upload images** and ask questions about them, effectively integrating AI Mode with Google's **Lens technology**. This allows the AI to understand the context of objects within an image, including their relationships, materials, colors, and arrangements.
"With Gemini's multimodal capabilities, AI Mode can understand the entire scene in an image, including the context of how objects relate to one another and their unique materials, colors, shapes and arrangements," Google explains. "Using our query fan-out technique, AI Mode then issues multiple queries about the image as a whole and the objects within the image, accessing more breadth and depth of information than a traditional search on Google."
The new Lens integration is available through the Google app on both Android and iOS.
Source: Engadget