Google has launched its new AI-powered search feature for Irish users that supports more complex queries and allows for follow-up questions. The move is part of a wider European roll-out of its AI services.
The new AI Mode will appear as a tab on Google’s search results page and in the Google app for both Android and iOS.
The new mode was first made available to US users earlier this year, alongside the UK and India. It was extended to 180 countries globally in August.
AI Mode uses a custom version of Google’s Gemini models for Search. Google said it is capable of more advanced reasoning and allows users to delve more deeply into topics with follow-up queries and links to the web. It also gives users more options in how they ask, allowing them to use text, voice and images.
RM Block
Google has unveiled a number of AI additions to its search service in a bid to stay ahead of an ever-shifting market. The company said the introduction of AI overviews in 2024 had led to users visiting more websites to answer their queries, and they were more likely to spend time on the sites.
“Since the launch of AI Overviews last year, we have seen a huge shift in how people are using Google Search,” said Hema Budaraju, vice president of Google Search. “People are asking much longer, harder, more complex questions.”
Google said the overviews are now driving more than 10 per cent more queries globally.
However, the introduction of the AI-generated snapshots was also marred by claims that the summaries returned inaccurate results.
Announcing the AI Mode expansion to 180 new countries, including Ireland, the company acknowledged that the technology would not always get things right, but said “novel approaches” are being used to improve its accuracy.
Google said it would show an AI-powered response as much as possible, but if there was not a “high confidence”, users will see a set of web-search results.
“As with any early-stage AI product, it won’t always be right, but Google is committed to continuous improvement,” Google said.
The company also pushed back against claims from website owners that AI-powered search features had caused a fall-off in search traffic, saying it had not seen the dramatic declines claimed and that it continued to send billions of clicks to websites each day.
