Google's new Web Guide uses AI to change how you see search results

Summary

Google has launched a new Search Labs experiment called Web Guide.
Web Guide runs on a custom version of Google Gemini and organizes search results and groups them together.
The new tool can be activated in Search Labs and is available under the “Web” tab for testing.

Google isn’t planning to slow down AI development anytime soon. Google Gemini is now widely available on many Android phones and is expanding to more devices soon, including smartwatches, TVs, and cars. The company also regularly updates its AI features, like AI Mode in Google Search and NotebookLM, its popular AI research assistant.

Now, Google is launching a new AI-powered Search Labs experiment for Google Search called Web Guide to organize search results more effectively, making it “easier to find information and web pages.” Web Guide uses a custom version of Google Gemini to process search results and “groups links in helpful ways.”

When you Google something, you usually see the top 10 links related to your search and possibly an AI Overview. With Web Guide, those links will be organized into different AI-organized subheadings to try to make browsing easier.

In the example Google showed off in its blog post, it took the search query “how to solo travel in Japan” and broke it down into several groups of links. The first set of links contained “Comprehensive Guides for Solo Travel in Japan,” and another group of links provided “Personal Experiences and Tips from Solo Travelers” and “Safety and Destination Recommendations.”

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Web Guide is available now in Search Labs

The new feature will appear under the “Web” tab on Google Search

Typically, I try to avoid Google’s AI tools in Google Search (looking at you, AI Mode), but I have to admit that this is one of the first I’ve found interesting. It doesn’t provide all the information instantly, but it presents it in a way that makes it easier for you to navigate and read about yourself.

In its blog post, Google also highlights how Web Guide can assist in answering more detailed questions, such as “My family is spread across multiple time zones. What are the best tools for staying connected and maintaining close relationships despite the distance?” Web Guide will then analyze the search query and offer various groups of links to address the question.

If you want to try out Web Guide, you can do so now by heading to Google Search Labs and enabling it. Currently, in its testing phase, Web Guide will only appear in the “Web” tab on Google Search. However, in the future, Google has plans to roll it out in the “All” tab as well.

Google has faced criticism for its use of AI in search, with the News/Media Alliance stating that Google’s new AI mode is “depriving publishers of original content both traffic and revenue.” Web Guide could be an attempt by Google to help divert some traffic back to publishers, but it’s far too early to tell.