Google has revealed the existence of Web Guide, an AI tool that will “intelligently organize the search results page, making it easier to find information and web pages.” Given how much the company’s Search product has decayed in recent years, this could well mark an improvement — though with a larger carbon footprint than the previously-functional Search from days gone by.
I’ll be your Web Guide
The feature is currently in testing, meaning users must opt in if they’d like to play with the new functions. It’ll supposedly unlock a more powerful version of Search by grouping links “in helpful ways”. Older folks might recall that Google used to work like this, with the most relevant-to-your-query results appearing right at the top. This sounds much the same, but with a few extra steps.
“Under the hood, Web Guide uses a custom version of Gemini to better understand both a search query and content on the web, creating more powerful search capabilities that better surface web pages you may not have previously discovered. Similar to AI Mode, Web Guide uses a query fan-out technique, concurrently issuing multiple related searches to identify the most relevant results,” the company explains.
The current test is being used to test the feature out, with Google planning a greater rollout to more sections of its Search product. Eventually, it’ll wind up in the AI tab, once the company figures out where the feature “can be most useful in helping people discover the web.”
A less charitable view is that the feature will be rolled out to all Google users following its time in Search Labs, allowing the company to claim everyone who searches on the service as an ‘AI user’. Stealth rebranding of its Assistant product did much the same for Gemini’s user numbers. Or it could, you know, be less scummy about trying to algorithmically monetise every single web search.
