Google App for iOS Gets AI-Powered ‘Simplify’ Feature to Break Down Complex Text

Google app for iOS is getting a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that will allow users to help understand complex text in articles and web pages. The Mountain View-based tech giant began shipping the feature, dubbed Simplify, starting Tuesday. Powered by Gemini AI models, the feature lets users highlight the desired text to get an AI-generated rewrite that breaks down complex language, jargon, and subject area-specific technical terms. Simplify was developed by Google Research, and a technical paper detailing the process has been published by the company.

Google App Can Now Simplify Text on iPhone Devices

In a blog post, the tech giant detailed the new feature rolling out to iOS users. This is a phased rollout, so it might take up to a few days before all Google app for iOS users get access to the AI feature.

Google says the AI tool can be useful when a user is trying to learn about a new topic and is struggling to understand the text due to niche terms and jargon used. Once they have access to the feature, they can just highlight the particular block of text, and the AI will automatically rewrite it in a simple-to-understand language.

After highlighting desired text, Simplify will appear at the bottom of the screen within the “More actions” panel. It will be available as the first option on the right side. The feature's icon is the letter ‘A' and two curved arrows surrounding it. Tapping on this icon will activate the feature.

Notably, Simplify generates the rewritten text on the same page, so users do not have to leave the article or research paper to understand the meaning of the complex text. Developed by Google Research, the tool is powered by the Gemini 1.5 Pro AI model.

In a technical paper, Google researchers highlighted that the AI tool was developed with a special focus on fidelity assessment. They ensured that the meaning of the original text is retained and errors such as loss of information, adding unrelated words, and distortion of the meaning behind the sentences are identified and corrected before the final output is generated.