Google unveils new travel and product search features based on AI

The AI-powered search experience that Google launched in May may have received mixed reviews. However, the search giant is refusing to let that impede its feature roadmap.

Today, Google unveiled new features for its experimental travel and shopping search experience known as the Search Generative Experience (SGE), some of which it demonstrated previously at its I/O conference.

Now, when a user uses Google Search to inquire about a location or destination (for example, “Is this restaurant good for large groups?”), They’ll see a snapshot that includes reviews, photos, and business profile details submitted by business owners as well as information from all over the internet. SGE will also display factors to consider alongside product descriptions, ratings, prices, images, and recommendations when they shop for Bluetooth speakers, for instance.

You.com and Perplexity AI, two rival search engines, are evoked by the experiences. However, Rany Ng, VP of Search, asserts that they stand to gain the most from Google’s exclusive data, which includes information on more than 200 million locations worldwide and 35 billion product listings.

“With this improved experience in SGE, you’ll get useful insights to guide you along the way, so you can spend less time planning and more time enjoying the plans you’ve made,” Ng wrote in a blog post this morning. “And if you need to buy something that requires extensive research ahead of your summer travels, generative AI in Search can be particularly useful.”

In a related announcement, Google will soon begin a new Add to Sheets experiment that will enable users to directly insert a search result into a spreadsheet and share it with friends, family, or anyone else with whom they may collaborate.

You will need to be enrolled in Search Labs, Google’s testing ground for new search-related technologies, in order to take advantage of any of the new features. In the United States, it is currently only available in English.