India and Japan became the first two countries outside the US to get access to Google’s Generative Search Experience as the company introduced its Search Labs initiative in the two Asian nations.
Search Labs, which was launched in May at Google I/O this year, is an initiative to experiment with new internet search technologies before they are made generally available to users.
The Generative Search Experience will allow Indian and Japanese users to access generative AI-based search capabilities in their local languages via a text query or using voice input, the company wrote in a blog post.
“Unique to India, users will also find a language toggle to help multilingual speakers easily switch back and forth between English and Hindi,” Hema Budaraju, senior director of product management at Google’s Search wrote, adding that Indian users will also be able to listen to the responses in their preferred language.
However, the company pointed out that Search advertisements will continue to appear in dedicated ad slots throughout the page.
Google said its research showed that consumers are using the Generative Search Experience for complex queries and new types of questions.
“People tell us they find the suggested follow-up questions beneficial to see examples of how to refine their search, and they’re asking longer and more conversational questions in full sentences because generative AI in Search can help them quickly find what they’re looking for,” Budaraju wrote in the blog post.
The highest satisfaction of using the Generative Search Experience, according to the company, is coming from users in the age group of 18-24 years.
In an effort to help users find more relevant information from Generative Search, the company is adding an arrow to the search result.
The arrow is expected to help users see relevant web pages and learn more about the search topic by visiting these sites, Budaraju wrote, adding that India and Japan will get the feature in the coming weeks.
Separately, the company also said that users were happy with the ad placements in the search result or window from Generative Search as well.
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