According to a new 9To5Google (opens in new tab) report, Google is working on a way to combine some of its search technologies and possibly even AI into a new tool called “Search Companion.”
It is said to make use of Lens, which allows users to search the web using image inputs instead of text, to extract more context from a web page.
Speculation suggests a new Search Companion window could be housed in a sidebar in the company’s popular web browserwhich accounts for two-thirds (66%) of all desktop browsing sessions (via Stat counter (opens in new tab)).
Google Chrome Search Help
Looking at the code, it seems that Search Companion can locate certain types of data about a web page, such as the title and other types of metadata, to determine what you are 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 then likely surface related information that the user needs, making web browsing and jumping between pages more efficient. For example, if a person looks at a product, Chrome may suggest deals or technical spec pages to aid your research efforts.
This all comes at a time when Microsoft is pushing AI like ChatGPT to its own browser – Edge – and Google is exploring its own place in artificial intelligence. Whether or not Search Companion will make use of Google’s Bard, or even exist at all, is uncertain, as Google has yet to make an official announcement about the upcoming project, but it’s clear that a lot of work is being done to refine and improve the search engine experience of the company. .
Through 9To5Google (opens in new tab)