TBC News

Tag: Search

  • 8 Ways Google’s AI Mode in Search Just Got Smarter, Personal, and Global

    8 Ways Google’s AI Mode in Search Just Got Smarter, Personal, and Global

    Text graphic featuring the phrase 'Ask anything with AI Mode' on a dark background with colorful light streaks.

    Google is transforming how we search with AI Mode, making it not just a tool to find information but a true assistant that helps you get things done.

    From personalized recommendations to real-time bookings and global expansion, AI Mode is evolving to handle complex tasks, understand your preferences, and even collaborate with your friends and family.

    Whether you’re planning a dinner, booking tickets, or exploring new places, these upgrades bring search closer to a seamless, intelligent experience. Here’s everything you need to know about the latest enhancements.

    1. AI Mode Acts on Your Behalf
    With its new agentic capabilities, AI Mode can now take action for you. Start with dinner reservations — input multiple preferences like party size, time, location, and cuisine — and AI Mode delivers a curated list of options with direct booking links. Soon, it will also handle local services and event tickets.

    2. Real-Time Access Across Platforms
    Powered by Project Mariner, Google Maps, Knowledge Graph, and partner integrations with OpenTable, Resy, Tock, Ticketmaster, StubHub, and SeatGeek, AI Mode pulls live availability from multiple sources so you can skip the back-and-forth between websites.

    3. Personalized Recommendations for Your Tastes
    U.S. users in the AI Mode Labs experiment can now see results tailored to their interests. Whether you prefer Italian cuisine, plant-based meals, or outdoor seating, AI Mode considers your past searches and interactions to suggest options that fit your preferences.

    4. Your Privacy, Your Control
    Google ensures you remain in control. You decide what personal context AI Mode can use, and all personalization settings are adjustable anytime within your Google Account.

    5. Share and Collaborate Instantly
    AI Mode now allows link-sharing for easy collaboration. Plan trips, organize parties, or explore ideas with friends and family. Recipients can pick up where you left off, ask follow-up questions, and explore independently while you retain control over shared links.

    6. Handles Complex Questions Efficiently
    AI Mode shines when tackling detailed or multi-step queries. From comparing products to understanding how-tos and planning projects, it can handle complicated questions in a single conversation, reducing the need for multiple searches.

    7. Expanding Global Reach
    AI Mode, already available in the U.S., India, and the UK, is now launching in over 180 countries and territories in English. This expansion makes Google’s most advanced AI search experience accessible to millions more users worldwide.

    8. Future-Ready AI Capabilities
    These updates are just the beginning. Google plans to roll out more agentic features, expand personalization, and introduce additional languages and regions. The goal is an AI that not only answers questions but actively helps you make decisions, plan efficiently, and explore the web with unprecedented ease.

    With these 8 upgrades, Google’s AI Mode turns search into a proactive assistant. It’s no longer just about finding answers — it’s about taking action, discovering what matters most to you, and collaborating with others in real time.

    As AI Mode continues to grow globally, your next task, reservation, or exploration could be just a conversation away.

  • Google Unveils AI-Powered Marketing Tools for Search and YouTube at GML SEA

    Google Unveils AI-Powered Marketing Tools for Search and YouTube at GML SEA

    Google launched a suite of new AI-driven marketing tools for Search and YouTube at the Google Marketing Live Southeast Asia (GML SEA) event, aiming to empower businesses with smarter solutions amid an increasingly complex digital landscape.

    The company introduced six key innovations, including Asset Studio, AI Max for Search, Ads in AI Overviews, AI Mode, the YouTube Creator Partnerships Hub, and agentic capabilities within Google Ads and Analytics.

    These tools are designed to help marketers produce content faster, optimize reach, and deliver more personalized experiences across platforms where consumer journeys are now more fragmented than ever.

    “With resources becoming more limited and journeys more complex, we’re equipping marketers with our most advanced models yet,” said Sapna Chadha, Vice President of Google Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier. “These tools are intelligent, agentic, and personalized—delivering sharper insights and better results.”

    Among the most significant announcements is the integration of ads into AI Overviews in Search. Already serving over 1.5 billion users globally, AI Overviews will soon roll out in English across the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, expanding advertising opportunities at key decision-making moments.

    Google also revealed AI Max for Search, a new feature that uses its Gemini models to better understand consumer intent. It replaces keyword-heavy campaigns with AI-generated headlines and visuals tailored to what users are actively seeking—whether typed, spoken, or captured in photos.

    E-commerce platform Shopee saw notable results in early testing of AI Max. A five-week campaign in Singapore and Malaysia led to a 100% increase in conversions and a 49% higher return on investment.

    For creative production, Google debuted Asset Studio, which uses generative AI to create an array of image and video assets. Powered by Google’s Imagen and Veo models, this tool aims to streamline the development of high-performing, visually engaging ads.

    Google’s focus on YouTube was also prominent at GML SEA, as the platform remains the number one video destination in Southeast Asia in terms of daily users. New data shows that YouTube drives more than twice the return on investment (ROI) of traditional TV advertising in countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

    Independent studies from Kantar and MTM show that YouTube creators hold more trust among users in Southeast Asia than those on other platforms, especially in countries like the Philippines and Indonesia. This trust, combined with broad generational reach, makes YouTube a powerful tool for brand discovery.

    To further support brands tapping into creator-led marketing, Google launched the YouTube Creator Partnerships Hub. This AI-enhanced discovery tool allows marketers to find suitable creators based on keywords, trends, and audience insights. It is now live in Singapore and Indonesia, with expansion to other markets expected soon.

    AI Mode, Google’s most powerful version of Search yet, was also introduced. It brings multimodal capabilities and deep reasoning, allowing users to ask longer, more complex questions and receive AI-generated responses enriched with links to the web. Google will begin testing ad placements in this mode in the U.S. soon.

    The company is also adding agentic capabilities to Google Ads and Analytics, enabling marketers to offload routine tasks like campaign creation and optimization. This AI assistant adapts to performance data and user inputs, freeing up time for strategy and creativity.

    Google said its goal is to turn AI from a buzzword into a practical advantage for businesses navigating the modern web.

    Every day, more than 5 trillion searches are made on Google, with increasing numbers initiated through voice, images, and video. Tools like Google Lens and Circle to Search are seeing rapid adoption, particularly among Gen Z users. Google Lens alone processed over 100 billion visual searches in 2025 so far, with one in five showing commercial intent.

    As marketing shifts toward predictive, personalized engagement, Google’s latest offerings show its commitment to helping brands not only keep pace—but lead—in a digitally transformed world.