Photo credit: arstechnica.com

Google Enhances AI Overviews for Travel Planning

In a move to refine its search capabilities, Google has introduced enhancements to its AI Overviews, particularly for users seeking assistance with travel planning. This update allows AI Overviews to create comprehensive trip plans, incorporating locations, photographs, itineraries, and additional details to make trip preparations more straightforward.

This functionality, however, is currently limited to English-speaking users in the United States. Travelers can easily export their generated travel plans directly to Google Docs or Gmail, simplifying the process of sharing or keeping track of trip details. For users who prefer a more traditional search experience, the integration of AI Overviews remains optional, as Google has opted not to automatically display these extended AI-generated responses.

Additionally, Google is expanding its flight price alerts, a feature that has garnered significant user interest, to include hotels. When users search for accommodations via Google, they can now opt to receive email notifications regarding any price drops for selected hotels, enhancing the utility of Google’s travel services. This feature is being rolled out globally across all mobile and desktop platforms starting this week.

Moreover, Google is highlighting some existing features aimed at summer travelers. The AI Overviews function within Google Lens was launched in English late last year, and it proves useful for those navigating new environments. Users can activate the Lens feature by pointing their device’s camera at an object and employing the search tool to find relevant information. Upcoming updates will extend this functionality to more languages, including Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish, further broadening accessibility in various regions where AI Overviews are supported.

Updated March 27 with information regarding on-device image processing in Google Maps.

Source
arstechnica.com