Google is rolling out AI Overviews in Search to six additional countries and introducing new features to enhance user experience. The company announced today that users in the United Kingdom, India, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, and Brazil will now have access to AI Overviews, with support for local languages in each country.
First launched in May in the U.S., AI Overviews help users quickly find information and explore web content more effectively. Google says that since the introduction of this feature, users have been asking longer questions, exploring complex subjects in greater depth, and discovering new perspectives.
This updates come amid intensifying competition in the AI-powered search space. Just two weeks ago, Microsoft unveiled its new generative search experience in Bing, which uses AI to create dynamic, personalized responses to user queries while maintaining traditional search result layouts.
At the same time, OpenAI previewed its SearchGPT prototype, an AI-powered search engine that aims to provide real-time conversational answers, with a strong emphasis on partnerships with publishers. Both companies are experimenting with how to balance innovation in search with the continued support of web ecosystems—a challenge Google is also addressing with its AI Overviews.
The expansion comes with several updates to the AI Overviews feature:
One of the main new features is a “save” button, allowing users to revisit AI Overviews at a later date. This option is particularly useful for those who want to revisit previously gathered information without starting a new search. Users can access their saved Overviews through their profile, making it easier to manage and return to topics of interest.
Another feature, previewed earlier this year, lets users simplify the language used in AI Overviews by tapping a “Simpler” button. This feature helps users better understand complex topics, especially those new to a particular subject, by providing more digestible summaries.
In addition to these functional updates, Google has made a notable change to how citations appear in AI Overviews. Instead of embedding relevant thumbnail links directly within the AI-generated summaries, the updated format now displays cited webpages more prominently on the right-hand side of the response. This aims to make source links easier to find, improving the transparency of information and encouraging users to explore original content further.
Additionally, they're also testing adding text links directly to relevent websites in the text of AI Overviews, which apparently has shown early positive results in driving higher traffic to publisher sites.
These new features and the international expansion will be rolled out gradually over several weeks.