Google introduced a new experimental search tool called Web Guide. Its goal is to — change the traditional display of search results with the help of artificial intelligence, «grouping links in a convenient way». In Web Guide, answers are structured by a modified Gemini model that reorganizes the traditional «10 blue links», sorting results and finding related questions.
The new feature is already available to Google Search users who have joined Search Labs programs. It works within the Web — tab where there is no «AI Overviews» (AI Overviews. Web Guide uses a similar approach as AI Search — an advanced query is split into parts, allowing AI to perform multiple searches at once and cover more options.
For example, if you ask «how to care for a mango tree», the system shows two relevant pages, a short AI summary, and several categories, such as «Care in different climates» or «Common problems with mango trees». The resources for preparing the answer were different: official websites, YouTube, Quora, Reddit. By the way, last year Google signed a deal with Reddit for $60 million per year to use its content to train models.
Web Guide partially brings back the good old search — with links at the top of the page, without intrusive videos or long AI conclusions. But not everything is so smooth: for example, under the heading «Complete mango tree care guides» AI added a phrase like: «The best way to care depends on age, location, and variety, so we recommend looking at several guides». That is, — obvious things that a person will already know by opening the link.
Users can also ask more complex questions, such as: «My family lives in different time zones. What tools can help us stay connected and close?» Web Guide will try to break down the query into parts and provide answers for each.
If you don’t like Web Guide — you can go back to classic search. But Google has already hinted that the feature will eventually appear in the «All» tab. You can try Web Guide by activating it in Search Labs.
Source: The Verge
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