Google launches real-time search for Gemini AI, adding a new dimension to AI: Its language models can now fetch live information from Google Search. The feature is called “Grounding with Google Search” and is designed for developers looking to enhance AI applications. It marks a shift from OpenAI’s consumer-focused ChatGPT Search, which also debuted the same day. This is a strategic move by Google, which will allow AI developers to add dynamic, search-driven responses to their product.
“This is definitely something we are considering, and I will say we’re really building on what Google does uniquely well, which is to make the world’s information accessible through search,” Logan Kilpatrick, Google product leader, emphasized. Google stands out among other search services because its model enables developers to access current search data, along with source citations. The service costs $35 per 1,000 queries, which reflects heavy computational resources for real-time AI search.
Google launches real-time search, response time to be real quick
The technology underlying the innovation uses a “dynamic retrieval” system to compute how often search results need to be retrieved, relative to the score each query gets. Queries for up-to-date news events, for example, might earn a score of 0.97, but non-time-sensitive prompts-say, creative writing-hold scores at 0.13. This selectively limits how much of a search result is retrieved so that a company can balance costs with response times without sacrificing any degree of accuracy.
This is coming at a very critical time for Google’s decision to merge search into AI. The company recently reported $49.4 billion in search advertising revenue in Q3 2024, and it is increasingly under pressure from emerging AI-powered search alternatives. It not only strengthens Google’s AI but also signals a shift toward AI-driven search services that could challenge traditional methods of information retrieval.
On the other hand, OpenAI’s consumer-focused ChatGPT Search is ad-free and delivers real-time news, sports, and stock information. With the introduction of Google’s real-time search feature by Gemini AI, combined with OpenAI’s ChatGPT Search, a new high-stakes game may be beginning in AI search. Given Google’s solid infrastructure, OpenAI’s reach to consumers, and Microsoft’s support for OpenAI, the battle for supremacy in this technology is likely to heat up and possibly redefine how people access online information.
Also, see: India emerges as second-largest supplier of restricted critical technologies to Russia