- A new Android search experience is currently being tested
- Results are updated in real time via voice input
- There’s no indication when the feature might launch
With the rise of generative AI bots, it feels like Google’s dominance of web search is under serious threat for the first time in a long time, but Google itself is busy testing new features to help users get information faster to find.
As noted by known tipster @AssembleDebug (via Android Central), Google is experimenting with a real-time conversational search experience on mobile. You simply chat with Google and the results automatically change with each entry as you ask follow-up questions or submit new ones.
It’s not immediately clear where this demo was found, but given the track record of this particular leak, it may have been discovered hidden in early testing code for Android or the Google app on Android.
You can already search Google with your voice on mobile – just tap the microphone icon instead of typing anything – but the continuous listening and instant refreshes are new and make the experience more fluid and natural.
Search changes
The demo of new conversational searches in the Google app. It’s constantly listening to your voice so you can ask follow-up questions while performing a search.#Android #Google pic.twitter.com/DgXnMx5DU4November 4, 2024
We’re seeing a lot of innovation in web search and information gathering right now, from Google and many others. Barely a day goes by without a new tool arriving, usually powered by AI.
The idea of voice as an input method is also experiencing something of a renaissance. Sure, we’ve been chatting with our smart speakers and smartphones for years, but generative AI has made conversations smoother and more useful.
All the big names in tech are working on ways to combine multiple inputs (known as a multimodal approach), so that voice, video, images and text can all be combined and used for searches.
This is another step in that direction. There’s no official word from Google on this yet and we don’t know when (or if) the functionality will arrive, but there’s no doubt that the company’s products will continue to evolve at a rapid pace.