Google expands AI-powered search to over 200 countries

Google has officially announced the global launch of its AI-powered search (AI Mode), an innovation that promises to change the way users interact with the search engine. The new feature is now available in over 200 countries and territories, including Romania, according to an announcement published on the company's official blog. The launch follows a testing phase that began in the United States, the United Kingdom and India in July, and the expansion now covers major European countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Poland, as well as Asian countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, notes the DPA agency.

• How AI Mode works

The new search mode, integrated into Google.com and local versions of the site, allows users to receive detailed and summarized answers generated by artificial intelligence. These are accompanied by partially cited sources in footnotes, and the three most relevant sources are highlighted in a sidebar. Thus, instead of the traditional blue list of links, AI Mode provides a narrative answer, adapted to the question, followed by additional references and suggestions. The system uses Gemini Pro 2.5, the latest version of the AI model developed by Google DeepMind, designed to provide fast and accurate answers, significantly reducing the wait time.

• From simple searches to complex questions

According to Hemei Budaraju, vice president of Product Management for Google Search, the function is able to handle complex queries, which would previously have required multiple successive searches. "Users can now formulate long and specific questions - such as creating an itinerary for a weekend in Edinburgh based on cultural or culinary interests - and the AI will generate a complete and personalized plan,” Budaraju explained.

• Impact on websites and online media

The expansion of AI mode, however, raises concerns among publishers and media companies that rely on traffic generated by Google Search.

By providing answers directly, there are fears that the number of clicks to source sites could drop significantly. Google representatives have tried to calm these fears, saying that initial experience in the US and UK shows that traffic to trusted sites is maintained. "Links to high-quality sources continue to generate substantial traffic,” a company spokesperson said. However, press associations and independent journalism platforms warn that the traditional business model of online media could be affected if users no longer access the original content directly.

• A strategy to respond to competition

The global launch comes at a time of fierce competition in the online search market, dominated by Microsoft and OpenAI's attempts to integrate artificial intelligence into Bing and ChatGPT Search. With AI Mode, Google is trying to regain lost ground against emerging platforms that offer conversational answers, not just links.

The Gemini model, at the heart of the new feature, is the result of a massive investment in AI infrastructure, estimated by Bloomberg at more than $100 billion in the coming years.

The launch of AI Mode marks one of the biggest transformations in the history of Google Search, since its launch in 1998. If until now the search engine acted as an intermediary between the user and the content, the new version transforms Google into an active generator of information, based on machine learning and advanced language models.