Google expands AI integration in search engine, Enhances image ,voice queries
Google is further integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its search engine, introducing features that allow users to ask voice-based questions about images and organize search results more effectively. These changes, announced on Thursday, represent the latest phase in Google’s AI-driven transformation, which began in May when the company introduced AI-generated summaries, or "AI Overviews," to its search results.
The introduction of these AI Overviews raised concerns among publishers, as fewer users were clicking on search links, reducing traffic to news websites like The New York Times and technology review platforms such as TomsGuide.com. However, Google has responded by incorporating more external links into these overviews, addressing worries that AI-driven summaries were diverting attention from important web content. A recent study by BrightEdge, a search traffic analysis firm, revealed that while general news publishers were losing traffic, specialized sites like Bloomberg.com and the National Institutes of Health saw an increase in visits through these AI-generated links.
A key part of Google's AI evolution builds upon its existing Lens feature, which allows users to search for objects in images. The Lens option now processes over 20 billion queries per month and is particularly popular among users aged 18 to 24, a demographic Google is keen to engage. With the latest update, users will be able to ask conversational questions in English about images viewed through a camera lens and receive search results. In addition, those enrolled in Google Labs can now test voice-activated features, enabling them to capture videos of moving objects—such as fish in an aquarium—and ask questions, receiving answers through AI Overviews.
Initially, Google’s AI will be used to organize search results for recipe and meal-related queries in English, grouping information into clusters of images, videos, and articles. The company hopes that this new feature will offer a more streamlined and intuitive search experience, even as it continues to fine-tune its AI’s accuracy and reliability.
Google’s decision to enhance its flagship search engine with more AI capabilities highlights the company’s commitment to the technology, as it navigates a major industry shift driven by AI innovations. This move positions Google to compete with emerging AI-powered alternatives like ChatGPT and Perplexity, which offer more conversational search experiences.
Google’s Vice President of Search Engineering, Rajan Patel, emphasized the company’s goal to make search simpler and more accessible. “The whole goal is to make search effortless for people, so they can search any way, anywhere they are,” Patel explained, noting that the AI features aim to enhance user convenience.
Despite the promise of AI-driven convenience, the technology has faced criticism for occasional inaccuracies. Google's AI Overviews have produced some notable errors, including advising users to put glue on pizza and eat rocks. These incidents were attributed to data gaps and online interference. However, Google asserts that it has resolved many of these issues and is now confident in using AI to curate information on its search results page.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
