Summary
- Google is adding a new “Explore Choices” section on its Android app to help users start searches from a blank slate.
- The section provides predefined search terms like “Movies to watch” and “Games to play” to help users find what they need.
- This addition is part of Google’s focus on AI Search, aiming to simplify the overwhelming experience of having too many choices online.
The age-old problem of having too many choices knows no bounds when it comes to searching on the internet. Sure, if you’ve got too many games downloaded on your Steam library, it may be hard to pick one game to play at that very moment (we know the feeling of staring at our game library for what feels like eons trying to decide what to launch). Likewise, there’s so many Android phones out there that it’s easier to be told which ones are the best and compare them directly. Google wants to make it easier to start a search when starting from a blank slate, and it’s doing that by adding a new section on its Android app.
Google’s AI Search experience is an utter mess I can’t stand
And it’s coming for you sooner rather than later
GApps Flags & Leaks, the popular Telegram channel run by @AssembleDebug that shares and (sometimes) leaks information about upcoming features in Google apps, discovered a new section in the main Google app on Android. In the Discover section, there’s a chip underneath the search bar that says “Explore choices” with a subtitle that implores users to “Tap to search” (via GApps Flags & Leaks). Additionally, an icon on the right side of the omnibox links to the same section. Upon pressing, users are greeted with numerous rows of suggested searches, such as “Movies to watch,” “Games to play,” and “Music to listen to.”
Paradoxical assistance
This upcoming addition is seemingly only coming to the Android app and not the desktop-based version of Google. However, there is an AI-powered search prompt underneath the search bar on desktops that infinitely generates questions and terms. This all relates back to Google Gemini, which is both the name for Google’s next-gen multimodal AI and the underlying large language model that powers it. Gemini has come onto the scene with a lot of hoopla, both good and bad, but it is the future of not just Google’s digital assistant but the company’s mindset as a whole.
We have our opinions on Google’s AI Search experience, and they’re not good. Every time you search on Google, a large dropdown box appears with a generative AI summary of all the results of your search. It’s intrusive, inconvenient and counterintuitive. In the future, Google might even charge you for generative AI searches as part of a Google One subscription. It’s not all bad though, as the company is testing a new feature to help people learn and improve their English. The upcoming ‘Explore Choices’ section is certainly a branch of Google’s insistence on AI Search, and its addition may help alleviate the paradox of choice that comes from searching online.
