Google now lets you explore the web side-by-side with AI Mode | TechCrunch

Google announced on Thursday that it’s rolling out a new way to explore the web with AI Mode, its conversational search experience. Now, when you’re using AI Mode on Chrome desktop, clicking a link will open the webpage side-by-side with AI Mode.

The goal is to make it easier to explore relevant websites, compare details, and ask follow-up questions while preserving the context of your search, the tech giant says.

For example, if you want to purchase a new a coffee maker, you can describe what you’re looking for in AI Mode and get a range of options. Once you click on one, you can open the retailer’s website alongside AI Mode and ask specific questions, like “how easy is this to clean?” AI Mode will then use context from the page and from across the web to answer your questions.

“Our early testers loved that they didn’t have to constantly switch tabs to get help with a comprehensive article or a long video,” Google explained in a blog post. “And they found that having both Search and the web side-by-side helped them stay focused on their tasks while exploring useful web pages.”

Google also announced a new way to search across the Chrome tabs you’re already looking at.

On Chrome desktop or mobile, you can tap the new “plus” menu in the search box on the “New Tab” page or in AI Mode, then select recent tabs to include them in your search. This means you can mix and match multiple tabs, images, or files and bring that context into your AI Mode searches.

For example, if you’re researching local hiking trails and already have a few tabs open, you can add them to your search and ask for similar trails in a different location. Or, if you’re studying for a statistics exam, you can bring in context from open tabs, class notes, lecture slides, and more to ask for examples to illustrate a concept.

The new updates to AI Mode are now available in the U.S. Google plans to expand them to additional regions in the future.