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 coming days it will be made available to all users. This is part of a global expansion – a total of 50 new countries and territories and 36 additional languages, making AI-powered 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 the query into several simpler ones – the search engine itself “branches” 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 of them 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 is more akin to how a human does — analysing context and connecting different threads.
Multimodal possibilities – text, voice and image
The AI mode in Google works not only on 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 picture 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, meaning it understands different forms of communication – text, voice, image, and even their combinations.
“Overview from AI” and the credibility of sources
A new section called “Overview from AI” appears in the new mode, which is a summarised response generated by artificial intelligence based on multiple sources. Below it, links to the pages that contributed to the creation of the summary are visible. Google assures that users click on these links more often and spend more time on them, as they lead to more tailored and quality content.
At the same time, the company emphasises that in situations where the model does not have enough 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 possibilities.
Tests, development and the limits of trust
Early data from Google shows that users of 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 the asking of contextual questions – much like in ChatGPT or Gemini.
However, the company openly acknowledges: the system will not always be perfect. Like any AI feature in its early stages, it may generate errors or oversimplifications, but the algorithms learn from user interactions.
Google vs ChatGPT – the race is speeding 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 Copilot from Microsoft.
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.
