Google has announced the launch of a new feature that allows users to search the Internet by filming a video clip. Video search will allow users to point the camera at something, ask a question about it and get search results, according to the BBC website.
Android and iPhone users around the world will be able to access this feature by enabling “AI Previews” in their Google app, but it will currently only support the English language.
This is the latest move by Google to change the way users search online through the use of artificial intelligence. The feature comes three months after OpenAI, the company that developed ChatGBT, announced that it was testing the ability to search by asking its chatbot questions.
“This new capability will make it easier for users to ask questions about the world from their surroundings,” said Liz Reed, director of research at Google. She gave the example of a person in an aquarium who wants to know why a group of fish are swimming in unison.
Instead of searching for fish online and typing in a query, the new feature will allow them to point their camera, record a short video and ask a question out loud.
Here, Google’s artificial intelligence will analyze the video, identify the fish, combine it with the question and display the search results.
“This is an important thing for Google,” said industry analyst Paolo Pescatori. “We now see artificial intelligence in everything and people connect better with visuals,” according to CNBC.
This latest development shows new ways to bring content to life through search, one of the most common tasks on the Internet.
Google’s new feature comes at a time when the company is facing growing challenges in search, as it is estimated to have captured more than 90% of the global market.
The biggest new competitor is OpenAI, which revealed last July that it was testing the “SearchGPT” feature for performing Internet searches by asking a chatbot questions, and it is currently being tested by a limited number of users in the United States.
CNBC reported that Google’s new ads would likely be a way to combat the growth of rival companies, although none threaten its enormous dominance so far.