Google is opening its generative AI search experience to teenagers aged 13 to 17 in the United States with a Google Account. This expansion allows every teen to participate in Search Labs and engage with AI technology conversationally.
Google Expanding AI-Powered Search Experience to Teens
Google announced on Thursday the expansion of its generative AI search experience to include teenagers. Effective this week, TechCrunch reported that adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 in the US who have a Google Account will be able to join Search Labs.
In addition to granting access to Google's AI-powered search experience, called the Search Generative Experience (SGE), teenagers will have the opportunity to engage with the technology in a conversational manner, receiving interactive responses similar to interacting with an AI chatbot.
It gives them access to the AI-powered search feature via the Google app or Chrome desktop. Hema Budaraju, Senior Director of Product Management at Google, emphasized the potential of generative AI to assist young individuals in posing questions that may not find adequate responses through conventional search engines.
Google Additional Safety Features
This technology also enables them to explore topics more deeply by asking follow-up questions. To ensure teenagers' safety and developmental needs, Google has integrated additional safeguards into the experience, drawing on research and expert insights into adolescent development.
Budaraju highlighted Google's commitment to implementing safety measures to prevent the surfacing of inappropriate or harmful content. Engadget reported that the company has fortified protections specifically related to illegal substances, age-restricted materials, and instances of bullying.
This expansion to a younger demographic coincides with Google's observations since the introduction of SGE, where it has noticed heightened popularity among younger users.
The highest satisfaction scores, according to Google, have been recorded among individuals aged 18 to 24, indicating a preference for posing questions in a conversational manner. Google is not only extending the AI search experience to teenagers but also introducing an "About this result" feature.
This feature, already present in standard Google Search, will now be part of the AI search experience. Google aims to provide users with context on how SGE generated responses, offering insights into the technology's functioning.
Furthermore, Forbes reported that Google intends to include "About this result" for individual links within SGE responses, providing users with additional information about the web pages supporting the AI-powered summaries.
Google is implementing an update to enhance the AI model's ability to identify false or offensive premise queries, ensuring more accurate and higher-quality responses.
The company is also actively developing solutions to enable large language models to self-assess their initial responses on sensitive subjects and rewrite them based on quality and safety criteria.
In the past few months, Google has been refining the AI search experience, introducing features such as support for multimedia content, local information, travel suggestions, and tools for summarizing and defining content.
Furthermore, Google has initiated experiments involving advertisements displayed alongside AI-generated responses.
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