According to a new 9To5Google (opens in new tab) report, Google is working on a way to combine a number of its search technologies and possibly even AI into a new tool that’s been dubbed ‘Search Companion’.
It is said to leverage Lens, which allows users to search the Internet with image inputs rather than text, in order to pull more context from a web page.
Speculation suggests that a new Search Companion window may be housed in a sidebar in the company’s popular web browser, which accounts for two-thirds (66%) of all desktop browsing sessions (via Statcounter (opens in new tab)).
Google Chrome Search Companion
Taking a look at the code, it seems that Search Companion will be able to pinpoint certain types of data about a web page such as its title and other types of metadata to determine what it is you’re looking at.
It will also use Lens to scan for images on the page to add more context to the information it collects.
The so-called companion will likely then surface related information that the user may want, helping to make browsing the web and jumping between pages more efficient. If an individual is looking at a product, for example, then Chrome may suggest deals or tech spec pages to facilitate your research efforts.
This all comes at a time when Microsoft is funneling AI like ChatGPT into its own browser – Edge – and Google is exploring its own place in artificial intelligence. Whether Search Companion will make use of Google’s Bard, or even exist at all, is uncertain, as Google has not yet made an official announcement about the upcoming project, but it’s clear that work is well underway to refine and improve the company’s search engine experience.
Via 9To5Google (opens in new tab)