Google’s AI Mode is progressing into a conversational search capability.

On Wednesday, the technology behemoth introduced a new Search Live voice functionality for its AI search tool, blending Google Search with an AI chatbot experience. This was presented at Google I/O as Project Astra by the team from Google DeepMind. The demonstration featured a bike mechanic utilizing the research prototype on his mobile device to locate specific details from a user manual. The voice feature is rolling out today, with live camera support anticipated in the “upcoming months.”

Google also indicated that once Search Live is enabled, it functions in the background, facilitating ongoing conversation and searching while using other applications.

A version of this voice mode is currently available in the Gemini app, referred to as Gemini Live. Commencing today, the Gemini voice feature is directly integrated into search. Search Live with voice input can be accessed in the Google mobile application for Android and iOS, but users must be located in the U.S. and part of the AI Mode experiment in Labs to utilize it.

Note: AI Mode is available to the public, but access to Search Live necessitates opting into the AI Mode Labs experiment.

At this year’s Google I/O, the company heralded a new age of search with the public launch of AI Mode. This enhancement has been in development for a while, beginning with AI Overviews, growing with an AI-generated version of the People Also Ask feature, and now encompassing AI Mode, a chatbot interface on the search page. Google Search is evolving into an AI-driven search engine, akin to ChatGPT and Perplexity.

Nonetheless, this is leading to a decline in traffic to external websites, as reported by publishers.

With capabilities such as voice support and forthcoming camera support, Google aspires to elevate AI Mode beyond a mere search tool, transforming it into an AI