Google Tests AI-Powered Audio Overviews in Search Results for Certain Queries

Google introduced a new experimental artificial intelligence (AI) feature in Search Labs on Friday. Dubbed Audio Overviews in Search, the feature generates short podcast-style AI audio conversations for certain search queries. The Mountain View-based tech giant says the feature is powered by one of the Gemini models, and it will automatically appear wherever its system determines Audio Overviews would be helpful. Notably, since it is an experimental feature, it is only available to select users at this time.

Audio Overviews Are Coming to Search Results

In a blog post, the tech giant said that it has launched Audio Overviews as a new Search Labs experiment. Users who want to try it out will first have to enrol for Labs, and then activate the feature. Gadgets 360 staff members were not able to spot the feature, so it is likely being tested with a subset of the users. While the company did not mention it explicitly, the feature might only be available via the Google app.

Audio Overviews were first introduced last year within the AI-powered note-taking platform, NotebookLM. The feature can generate a short audio conversation between two AI hosts, styled in the fashion of a podcast. The two hosts speak in a human-like manner and discuss various aspects of the topic.

After NotebookLM, the tech giant also added the feature to the Gemini app recently. Now, with another expansion, Audio Overviews will be able to generate short audio discussions on certain search results in Google Search. The company is pitching the feature as a hands-free way to learn about unfamiliar topics while multitasking.

Audio Overviews in Search results
Photo Credit: Google

Based on a screenshot shared by Google, when an eligible user types a search query for which audio conversations are available, they will see an option dubbed “Search Labs | Audio Overviews.” The new box will also feature a basic media player with options for play/pause, volume controls, progress bar, and speeding up the audio.

Underneath the media player, users can see the number of websites used to create the Audio Overview, as well as the list of individual pages. Google says users can tap on these web pages to learn more about the topic.

Based on their experience, users can also thumbs up/down each audio discussion, as well as go to Search Labs to do the same for the entire experiment as a whole.