Katarzyna Petru
Google officially introduces a new AI mode in its search engine – also in Poland. From 8th October, the feature appears as a new tab in search results and in the Google app, and in the following days it will reach all users. This is part of a global expansion – a total of 50 new countries and territories and 36 additional languages, making AI search available in over 200 countries worldwide.
AI Search – a New Era for Google Search
The new mode allows you to ask Google much more complex questions. There’s no need to break down your query into several simpler ones – the search engine itself “branches out” the topic and analyses it from multiple angles. In practice, this means that a question like:
“I want to learn more about the new seven wonders of the world. What is the significance of each one and where are they located?” will be broken down into several smaller sub-questions that the system will analyse in parallel to find the most accurate sources.
Google calls this query branching technique (query branching). Thanks to it, the search engine can process information in a way that’s more similar to how a human does it — analysing context and connecting different threads.
Multimodal capabilities – text, voice and image
The AI mode in Google works not only with written words. You can speak, or even show what you mean — just use the camera on your phone. In practice, this means that you can, for example, take a photo of a plant and ask how to care for it, or send a photo of a device and request the user manual. Thanks to this, the search engine becomes multimodal, which means it understands different forms of communication – text, voice, image, and even their combinations.
“Overview from AI” and source credibility
A new feature also introduces a section “Overview from AI”, which is a summary provided by artificial intelligence based on multiple sources. Below it are links to the pages that were used to create the given summary. Google asserts that users are more likely to click on these links and spend more time on them, as they lead to more relevant and high-quality content.
At the same time, the company emphasises that in situations where the model lacks sufficient confidence in its response, the user will see traditional search results. In other words – AI does not completely replace traditional searching, but rather expands its capabilities.
Tests, development, and trust boundaries
Early data from Google shows that users of the AI Mode ask questions that are 2–3 times longer than in traditional searches. This indicates that the new feature encourages more natural conversation and contextual questioning – similar to ChatGPT or Gemini.
However, the company openly admits: the system will not always be perfect. Like any early-stage AI feature, it may generate errors or oversimplifications, but algorithms learn from user interactions.
Google vs ChatGPT – the race is heating up
The introduction of AI Mode in Poland is another step towards a more "conversational" internet. Google does not hide the fact that it wants to combine the power of its search engine with generative AI – without the need to switch to separate applications. This is a direct response to the popularity of ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot.
From the users' perspective, this means one thing: the beginning of a new era of searching, in which artificial intelligence not only searches for information but also understands and explains it contextually.
