Applied AI Tools

These Generative AI features are spread across Google’s ecosystem of products. I have listed those which I think are relevant for a casual user of internet and products that have the most user base. Some of these features are experimental and not accessible globally.

1. Google Search Generative Experience (SGE)

The Google Search Generative Experience (SGE) is a major update in its search interface. It helps you get straight to the information for your search query, helping you avoid browsing multiple websites. It helps make your search experience faster.

Google’s SGE is a response to Bing’s latest ‘chat’ interface to ‘generate’ search results on Bing Chat. Here, Google has assigned an additional space on top of the first search result where it has developed a unique user interface that include generated text to answer the search query and list references taken by Google. You can further probe Google by asking more follow up questions and keep engaging with it as you would usually do with ChatGPT.

What can you do with Google SGE?

• Get concise introductory information about your search query and curated links to explore further
• Can help you shop by providing best practices to choosing a product and save time in browsing by sharing curated product links that directly meet your specifications. It also curates customer reviews across the web to help you make a decision.
• Listen to the generated content by Google AI and save time reading and browsing
• Ask follow-up questions to dig deeper into your topic without scrolling through google search page results.
• Use images to support your search query and get more relevant results.
• Translate generated content to local languages.

How to use Google SGE for search?

Type your search query and you will observe a separate section for Google’s SGE. You can listen to its response or jump directing to usual search results.

If you’re interested to check the generated search result, click on ‘Show More’. It will open up and show you the generated answer along with a 3-10 links which it referenced to. You can click on those links to review the content details and fact check the response to make sure you’re seeing the right result to your query.

If you scroll down further, you will see some more text generated and links shared as is reference. If you’re not satisfied with the result, you can prompt follow up questions by clicking on the suggestions or type your own in the chat box.

You can provide feedback to Google SGE by clicking ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’ to rate its generated content on how close it is to your search query.

You can also click on the ‘camera’ icon in the chat box and add an image along with the follow up question for Google AI to give more relevant answers. For example, I shared a random infographic image and asked to share what it was – and it gave me accurate search results, people ask ask queries, and found the infographic download link too!

When you search for local queries, it will also show option to listen and translate the content into local language. For example, here I searched ‘history of Jaisalmer’ – a city in India and Google SGE gave me an option to listen and translate the information in ‘Hindi’ (India’s National language).

How to access Google SGE?

You must be above 18 years old and have a Google account for accessing Google SGE. Also, Google SGE works on Chrome and updated Google search app on Android/iOS phones only.

To turn on Google SGE in Chrome, follow these simple steps:

1. Open Google chrome

2. Open a new tab

3. Click on the ‘labs’ icon which looks like a beaker on the top left. It is near the profile icon.

4. Then, Chrome will open the Search Labs page on a new tab as shown below. Click on the toggle to turn on the SGE feature.

5. You can choose to opt it to get SGE updates and provide feedback. Then, open the google website and you may see active SGE being shown for some search results.

2. Duet AI for Google Workspace

Duet AI is designed as an AI assistant for Google Workspace to improve your productivity. It acts as a collaborator to organize, write, or create – thus making the best use of Google Workspace’s ecosystem. Duet AI promises that you can accelerate the mundane tasks by 70-80% provided you have a well structured prompt.

What can you do with Duet AI?

• Write, summarzie, and edit content on Google Docs, draft emails, and proofread written text.
• Live translation of captions, background generation, and sound fixes on Google Meets.
• Generate visuals for Google Slides like photos, data visualization, images for ad campaigns, product conceptualization, etc.
• Organize your worksheets and formula flows on Google Sheets

How to use Duet AI to enhance workplace productivity?

We can understand Duet AI’s application across four major use cases:

Here’s how you can use Duet AI on Google Docs for customer operations:

When you open Google Docs, you will get a hovering button ‘Help me write’. On clicking, it will expand to give you space to add your prompt. Click on ‘Create’ and wait for the output to generate.

It will give you the option to ‘recreate’ if you wish to rewrite your prompt to get better result. It can also refine the existing output.

When you’re satisfied with the result, click on ‘Insert’ and make any other necessary changes. Learn how to write a prompt to get the most relevant and usable results.

Here’s how you can use Duet AI on Google Slides to generate visuals:

Launch the Duet AI from the icon and write your prompt for generating the desired image. You can also add a style of your choice and change them from the dropdown menu to generate variety of outputs.

Here’s how you can use Duet AI in Google Sheets to generate or organize data:

Head to the Duet AI launcher and add your prompt in the space provided. Click on ‘create’ and preview the generated output. If you’re satisfied with the output, click on ‘Insert’ and edit it further as required.

How to access Duet AI for Google Workspace?

You need to have an eligible paid Google Workspace account (Business, Frontline, or Enterprise editions). Google Workspace provides a 14-day free trial for up to 10 people, post which you can purchase the add-on.

You can register for access – Duet AI for Google Workspace

Note: Duet AI currently support only English language.

3. Google Maps introduces Generative AI for personalized discovery and recommendations

Google Maps has become an indispensable app across the world for both local and beyond requirements. From getting past your road trips, last mile walks, to getting recommendations for everything – today, Google Maps is a super app. Google has introduced Generative AI features to Google Maps app to enhance recommendations to make it more personalized and conversational. It’s like introducing Google SGE like features into the Google Maps app.

What can you do with Generative AI for Google Maps feature?

• Help with shopping by finding exact products you’re looking for using customer reviews and vast Google Maps database. Will include photos by shops and owners along with directions and prices.
• Find events as per your mood on maps. Use follow up questions to refine your results as per available time and location.
• Find relevant restaurants by instantly searching for dishes and cuisines as per your mood.

Here’s a good video that covers more advanced AI features planned for Google Maps:

How to access Generative AI for Google Maps?

Currently Generative AI for Google Maps is only available for US on an experiment basis. They are collaborating with the community of Local Guides and using Generative AI to provide concise and personalized information to its users.

4. Google’s Lumiere generates realistic AI videos

Google’s Lumiere is a multimodal AI video generator capable of synthesizing lifelike and coherent videos based on image and prompts. It can craft the video all at once by simply writing an optimized prompt that covers your requirements.

What can you do with Google Lumiere?

• Share text prompts and get complete video without any frame by frame generation.
• Edit generated video as per needs using Lumiere’s video editing tools or text commands. You can change the style, colors, tone, etc.
• Animate still images into GIFs or videos using text prompt.
• Create cinemagraphs – which means, you can select a specific region within an image and animate only that part. The rest of the image remains still and only selected part moves as commanded in text prompt.
• Edit existing videos based on your text prompt. You can share reference style required as images and Lumiere can instantly edit your video to align.

How to access Google Lumiere?

As of now, there is no official way to access Google Lumiere. It is likely that this model will get integrated with Google Gemini (previously Bard). In meantime, you can read the Google Lumiere paper to get technical understanding of the space-time diffusion model for video generation.

5. Generative AI features for Google Chrome

Google is brining Generative AI capabilities to improve its Google Chrome browser experience. Some of these features are still experimental.

What can you do with Google’s latest Chrome features powered by AI?

Here are five interesting AI-powered features Google Chrome has brought to improve your browsing experience:

1. Get live captions for videos

Head to your Chrome Settings and on left panel select ‘Accessibility’ option (if not visible check ‘Advanced’ drop menu). Toggle the ‘Live Caption’ option and select your preferred language. You can also change your caption size or style to suite you preferences.

2. Journeys to group search queries and results

Google is using AI to help you browse through your search history more seamlessly. Simply head to ‘History’ and click on ‘By group’ to access your search journeys. You can click on three dots menu to open all the tabs in a specific search journey and resume your work.

3. Learn about topics while browsing

Google is introducing sharing of definitions, summarizing key points in a web page, and more to help navigate a topic or website better. It will also help jump to the relevant section quicker - thus helping consume long form articles efficiently.

4. Organize tabs

For someone like me who suffers from opening too many tabs – this is a much needed feature. Google Chrome now allows you to organize similar tabs into groups automatically. You can create custom groups, name them, and access as required.

5. Generate custom wallpapers in Google Chrome using Generative AI

Sick of Google’s default Chrome themes? Now you can create your own theme with generative AI. Optimize the options and click on ‘Create’ to generate your custom AI Chrome theme.

6. Writing assistant for browsing web

Google Chrome will make it easier to complete mundane tasks like filling up form fields, writing a customer review, or send queries to contact pages of website you’re browsing. It will generate content automatically using ‘Help me write’ option which you can edit further as required.

How to access Google Chrome’s AI features?

Only the Live Captions, Journeys, and SGE features are available globally to access. The other three features (tabs, theme, and writing) are at experimental stage and available only to US users on beta.

6. Gemini (previously Google Bard) for dedicated Generative AI chat tool

Google Gemini is a powerful competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT to help you leverage Google AI technology for performing tasks across generating content, learning, researching, get recommendations, and much more. You can write prompts and it instruct it to perform tasks. Like how ChatGPT has free version, Google’s Gemini too has free and paid upgrade that offers more storage, capable models, and access across Google’s ecosystem of products.

What can you do with Google Gemini?

• Similar to Google Assistant, you can use Gemini to assist you across tasks while using your phone in a chatbot interface. It can handle phone hands free like make phone calls, read message aloud, control device features like flashlight, and much more.
• Generate images instantly based on text, speech, or image prompts.
• Brainstorm or learn new topics using follow-up questions.
• Summarize large texts, emails, or information from Google Drive. At the time of writing this blog, Gemini cannot browse web or summarize content from website links.
• Help with data analysis and visualization
• Build AI Agents to automate your Generative AI workflows with Gemini

How to access Google’s Gemini?

Log into your Google Account and head to https://gemini.google.com/. Click on ‘Try Gemini’ and you can try the free version of the app. You can purchase the paid version of Gemini using the drop down option to change model and clicking on ‘Upgrade’. You can try Gemini’s Advanced version for free for two months.

I will keep updating this blog based on Google’s Updates – stay tuned!

Google will be further integrating Gemini across its ecosystem of apps like Workspace, Android, search engine, etc. There are other updates like MusicFX, ImageFX, and TextFX which you can explore at AI test Kitchen by Google.

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