Google announced the expansion of AI Overviews to more than 100 countries on Monday. The feature, which offers a brief overview of the searched query using artificial intelligence (AI) was earlier limited to a few territories. However, the Mountain View-based tech giant is now pushing to a wider user base with this update. The company highlighted that it is the feature’s largest expansion drive since launch. Notably, last month a report claimed that AI Overviews began showing ads to some users at the bottom of the interface.

Google Expands AI Overviews to More Than 100 Countries

In a blog post, the tech giant detailed the expansion move. AI Overviews was released to the public in May. However, it was available to beta testers in 2023 as the Search Generative Experience (SGE). At launch, Google changed the branding of the feature to introduce the new name.

Google said that starting this week, AI Overviews will become available in more than 100 countries and be accessible in more languages than before. Earlier, it was only available in English, but now the feature also supports Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. This means AI Overviews will activate even when a query is not asked in the English language.

After the expansion, Google believes the feature will reach a user base of more than one billion globally. The feature was likely expanded as the tech giant now plans to earn revenue through it. Last month, several users spotted seeing ads at the bottom of the AI Overviews interface.

Google said that ads will continue to appear in dedicated slots with “clear labelling to distinguish between organic and sponsored results.” While the rest of the world will see ads only on the browser, the tech giant is now rolling out ads to mobile devices in the US as well. This is being done “so we can better connect people with the products and brands that are helpful to their searches,” the post added.

Notably, the tech giant introduced better transparency with AI Overviews recently. The feature now shows a clear link icon on display highlighting the source of the information. The company said this way the source websites will also get increased traffic.

Google Lens is getting a significant update and will now support video recording. Users can use this feature to capture videos about objects and places they would like to run a quick web search about. The feature was first unveiled at Google I/O earlier this year, and it uses the capabilities of the company’s in-house artificial intelligence model, Gemini. The feature is also integrated with AI Overviews, so it might not be available in the regions where the AI-powered search experience is not available.

Google Lens Gets Video Recording Capability

Gadgets 360 staff members spotted the feature within the Google Lens interface. Earlier, Google Lens would only let users capture an image and offer tools such as translation, image search, and homework which can look up a mathematical problem and find a solution for it online.

While the feature was useful for quickly translating street signs in a foreign language and looking up the name of a flower, it also had limitations. Users could not search for a moving object or run a detailed query about something. For instance, you could not snap a picture of a table and ask about the type of wood used for it. However, at Google I/O, the Mountain View-based tech giant unveiled a solution for it in the form of short video recording capability.

Google Lens with video now allows users to record a roughly 20-second-long video and add a verbal prompt for the video. Once the recording is done, Google Lens uses Gemini-powered AI Overviews to run a search for it using the prompt spoken in the video.

AI Overviews then processes the data using computer vision and provides a response. In our testing, the feature was able to accurately identify moving objects, describe its colour and shape, as well as the material used for it.

This feature is currently rolling out to all users who have access to Google Lens and live in a region where AI Overviews is available. Using the feature is simple. Just open the Google Lens interface, and in the Search mode, long press the capture icon. The interface automatically begins recording a video.

The user, at this point, can say what they want to know about the video. Once done, Google Lens automatically opens Search within the Google app and AI Overviews begins generating a response. The response usually shows up within two to three seconds.

Google Lens is getting a significant update and will now support video recording. Users can use this feature to capture videos about objects and places they would like to run a quick web search about. The feature was first unveiled at Google I/O earlier this year, and it uses the capabilities of the company’s in-house artificial intelligence model, Gemini. The feature is also integrated with AI Overviews, so it might not be available in the regions where the AI-powered search experience is not available.

Google Lens Gets Video Recording Capability

Gadgets 360 staff members spotted the feature within the Google Lens interface. Earlier, Google Lens would only let users capture an image and offer tools such as translation, image search, and homework which can look up a mathematical problem and find a solution for it online.

While the feature was useful for quickly translating street signs in a foreign language and looking up the name of a flower, it also had limitations. Users could not search for a moving object or run a detailed query about something. For instance, you could not snap a picture of a table and ask about the type of wood used for it. However, at Google I/O, the Mountain View-based tech giant unveiled a solution for it in the form of short video recording capability.

Google Lens with video now allows users to record a roughly 20-second-long video and add a verbal prompt for the video. Once the recording is done, Google Lens uses Gemini-powered AI Overviews to run a search for it using the prompt spoken in the video.

AI Overviews then processes the data using computer vision and provides a response. In our testing, the feature was able to accurately identify moving objects, describe its colour and shape, as well as the material used for it.

This feature is currently rolling out to all users who have access to Google Lens and live in a region where AI Overviews is available. Using the feature is simple. Just open the Google Lens interface, and in the Search mode, long press the capture icon. The interface automatically begins recording a video.

The user, at this point, can say what they want to know about the video. Once done, Google Lens automatically opens Search within the Google app and AI Overviews begins generating a response. The response usually shows up within two to three seconds.