Google unveils AI chatbot, signalling a new era for search landscape

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California - Google became the gateway to the internet by perfecting its search engine. For two decades, it surfaced 10 blue links that gave people access to the information they were looking for.

But after a quarter-century, the tech giant is betting that the future of search will be artificial intelligence.

On May 20, Google said it is introducing a new feature in its search engine called AI Mode. The tool will function like a chatbot, allowing users to start a query, ask follow-up questions and use the company’s AI system to deliver comprehensive answers.

“It’s a total reimagining of search,” said Google chief executive Sundar Pichai at a press briefing before the company’s annual conference for software developers.

The feature headlined a list of new AI abilities, including more personalised and automated e-mail replies, and a shopping tool to automatically purchase clothing after it is put on sale.

With the introduction of AI Mode, Google is essentially trying to disrupt its traditional search business before upstart AI competitors can disrupt it. The search giant has been nervous about that possibility since declaring a “code red” two years ago after the arrival of ChatGPT, a chatbot from OpenAI that ignited a race to add generative AI into tech products.

But Google has been hesitant to fully embrace AI because it has so much to lose. The company’s search business generated nearly US$200 billion (S$258 billion) in 2024 – more than half of its total sales. And the bedrock of that business has been how it has reliably provided people with the best answers to questions.

AI systems have one big shortcoming: They are prone to giving incorrect answers, like recommending people eat rocks, which one of Google’s AI systems did in 2024.

Google’s new AI features are bound to deepen tensions between Google and web publishers who are concerned about traffic. Chatbots often lift information from websites and deliver it directly to people, upending the traditional search model that has sent people across the web to find material.

The company has sought to downplay publishers’ concerns that AI will disrupt their businesses. Mr Pichai said AI Overviews, a feature the company introduced in 2024 to generate summaries above traditional search results, has increased the number of searches people do and often leads people to spend more time on suggested websites. NYTIMES