Google announced two new artificial intelligence tools that it says will make searching for things online "significantly easier," CNN reported.
Mobile users who have access to Google on some Android phones will soon be able to circle or highlight items that appear on their smartphone screens to add more information and ask complex or nuanced questions about an image or text.
The company said it has been secretly testing the tools since last year to test how generative AI can make search more personalized and intuitive.
The features were first unveiled at Samsung's Unpacked event earlier this week and will appear in the Galaxy S24 line of smartphones that launches later this month. Starting January 3, they will also launch in several other high-end Android smartphones, including the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.
The first feature, called Circle to Search, allows Android users to circle, tap, highlight or draw on photos, videos or text to learn more about what they're seeing, such as a landmark in the background part of one's social network page.
Additionally, people will be able to point their mobile camera (or upload a photo or screenshot) and ask a question through the Google app to get information. The company gave the example of a person coming across an unfamiliar board game at a yard sale and asking the app "how to play this game."
Over the years, Google has made changes to the search engine, such as enabling voice search or its Lens tool, which uses image recognition technology through smartphone cameras to learn more about the world around them.
Google's AI play underscores a larger push across the tech industry as major tech companies including Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and others race to deploy similar technologies.
"We've barely scratched the surface of what's possible," the company said in a statement. /BGNES