![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/778f\/live\/f47820e0-818d-11ef-98f4-8f408a3dba7c.jpg.webp\")
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nGoogle has released a new feature which will allow people to search the internet by taking a video.<\/p>\n
Video search will let people point their camera at something, ask a question about it, and get search results.<\/p>\n
Android and iPhone users globally will gain access to the feature from 1700 GMT by enabling “AI Overviews” in their Google app, but it will only support English at launch.<\/p>\n
It is the latest move from the tech giant to change how people search online by utilising artificial intelligence (AI).<\/p>\n
It comes three months after ChatGPT-maker OpenAI announced it was trialling the ability to search by asking its chatbot questions.<\/p>\n
Google introduced AI-generated results at the top of certain search queries this year, with mixed results. <\/p>\n
In May, the feature drew criticism for providing erratic, inaccurate answers, which included advising people to make cheese stick to pizza<\/a> by using “non-toxic glue”.<\/p>\n At the time, a Google spokesperson said the issues were “isolated examples”. The results have since become better, with fewer inaccuracies.<\/p>\n Since then, there have been further moves to include AI in search, which included the ability to ask questions about still images using Google Lens.<\/p>\n The firm said this feature has increased the popularity of Lens, within its mobile app, which has motivated it to expand the feature further.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Google’s head of search Liz Reid said the new capability would let people ask questions about the world around them more easily.<\/p>\n She gave the example of a person at an aquarium, who might want to find out why a group of fish are swimming in unison.<\/p>\n Instead of having to search for the fish online and write out the query, the new feature will let them point their camera, record a short clip and ask a question out loud.<\/p>\n Google’s AI will analyse the video, identify the fish, combine that with the question and produce search results.<\/p>\n Industry analyst Paolo Pescatore said this was a “big thing” for Google.<\/p>\n “We are now seeing AI in everything and people connect best with visuals,” he said.<\/p>\n “This latest development further demonstrates new ways of bringing content to life with something like search which is one of the most common tasks carried out on the internet.<\/p>\n “Here lies scope for AI to be truly collaborative and an innovator in everyday life – we are on the brink of AI becoming personalised and unique based upon our usage patterns and habits.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As well as introducing a way to search by video, Google has also released several other updates.<\/p>\n It says it has improved its shopping results, which will now incorporate reviews and pricing information from different sellers.<\/p>\n And it is also introducing a competitor to the music-identifying app Shazam, which is owned by Apple.<\/p>\n The rival tool, accessible through Circle to Search on an Android device, will let people identify songs from a website they’re on or a show they’re streaming without leaving the app.<\/p>\n Google’s new features come as it faces growing challengers in the search space, where it is estimated to have cornered more than 90% of the market globally.<\/p>\n This includes OpenAI, which revealed in July it was trialling a search feature within ChatGPT.<\/p>\n SearchGPT lets people search the internet by asking questions to a chatbot, and it is being tested by a limited number of users in the US.<\/p>\n OpenAI’s value surged to $157bn (\u00a3120bn) on Wednesday after it raised $6.6bn in its latest funding round<\/a> from high-profile investors including Microsoft.<\/p>\n Google’s new announcements are likely a way to combat the growth of rival firms – though none are yet to truly threaten its massive dominance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nHooked on video<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Other ways to search<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n