Google on Monday announced a broader rollout of its AI Mode to millions more Labs users in the U.S., following strong early feedback. The company also introduced multimodal search within AI Mode, expanding on the feature first launched last month.
Positive Feedback from Early Users
Robby Stein, VP of Product at Google Search, shared that early testers gave “incredibly positive feedback” on AI Mode. Users praised its “clean design,” quick performance, and how well it can “understand complex and nuanced questions.”
Stein noted that AI Mode queries are, on average, twice as long as traditional Google Search queries. People are using it for exploratory and open-ended questions, as well as complex tasks like comparing products, learning how-tos, and planning trips.
Multimodal Search: See and Ask
With its new multimodal understanding, users can now snap a photo or upload an image, ask a question about it, and receive detailed responses—including links to explore further.
This feature merges Google’s visual search technology in Lens with a custom version of Gemini, allowing users to ask advanced questions based on what they see.
Stein explained that AI Mode builds on years of visual search development, taking it further with Gemini’s multimodal technology, enabling it to understand the entire scene in an image—including object relationships, materials, colors, shapes, and arrangements.
How AI Mode Understands Images
AI Mode uses a method called query fan-out, which sends out multiple search queries—not only about the whole image but also the individual elements within it. This approach helps deliver context-rich and deeper insights than a standard search.
Stein illustrated with an example: AI Mode can identify each book on a shelf, generate search queries, and return highly rated recommendations. It then shares links to learn more or buy, with options to ask follow-up questions and refine the results.
Availability and Next Steps
Stein confirmed that AI Mode is still being tested and improved with input from Labs users. He added:
We’re continuing to improve the experience, and today we’re bringing the powerful multimodal capabilities in Lens to AI Mode.
Anyone in the U.S. who is interested can sign up in Labs to try the updated AI Mode in the Google app on Android and iOS.
