In the wake of Microsoft’s phenomenal success with Bing Chat powered by OpenAI, Google is restyling its search platform to be conversationally driven using artificial intelligence. It also plans to add more social media posts and short videos to its search results, a significant shift from the “10 blue links” of website results that have traditionally served as the Google Search template. At its Google I/O developer conference today, Google is expected to showcase new AI features that it will incorporate into search as part of a new project code-named “Magi.”

“It plans to incorporate more human voices as part of the shift, supporting content creators in the same way it has historically done with websites,” The Wall Street Journal says of what sounds like an inflection point for the company, which turns 25 this year.

In a report based on internal documents and conversations with insiders, WSJ writes that the Alphabet firm’s new search engine approach will be more “‘visual, snackable, personal, and human,’ with a focus on serving young people globally.”

Google is taking a big risk, messing with success: the search giant made more than $162 billion in revenue from advertising last year. But given the market changes and the meteoric public adoption of AI chatbots and short-form video apps, it has little choice but to adapt.

“Google Search visitors might be more frequently prompted to ask follow-up questions or swipe through visuals such as TikTok videos in response to their queries,” WSJ writes, adding that “the company has already moved to integrate some online forum posts and short videos in search results,” but it plans to make such material more central in the future.

The number of active websites has topped-out in recent years, forcing the company to become more creative in how it finds and shares information. Despite such changes, Google’s search engine remains what WSJ says is “the world’s most heavily trafficked website,” having for years managed “more than 90 percent of searches on computers and mobile devices, according to data provider Statcounter.”

“Internet users are increasingly turning to other apps to find information on everything from popular local restaurants to advice on how to be more productive,” WSJ writes. Google’s new strategy is: “more than answers, we’ll help you when there’s no right answer,” the internal docs seen by WSJ say.

A new search feature “will allow users to ask follow-up questions to their original queries,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai told WSJ in an interview last month.

Google executives have also reportedly been mindful of TikTok’s rise. Google SVP of Search Prabhakar Raghavan said at a 2022 conference that about 40 percent of young people turn to ByteDance’s TikTok or Meta Platforms’ Instagram when searching for restaurants.

With billions of user queries each day, a change in Google Search design “would send significant ripples through the tech industry and our larger culture and would bring AI to the masses in a way we’ve not yet seen,” writes CNET.

Related:
What Happens When Google Search Doesn’t Have the Answers?, The Verge, 5/8/23