Google has quietly introduced a new share feature in Search Generative Experience, both in-app and on web, as reported earlier Monday by 9to5Google.
The feature works much like the share buttons found on Twitter, Reddit or a number of other websites, but is currently only available if you’re a part of Search Generative Experience, or SGE.
Google unveiled SGE at its Google I/O developer’s conference earlier this year. This experimental version of search integrates AI-generated results directly above the 10 blue links that populate when making a query. SGE does a lot of the heavy lifting for you, filtering information from multiple sites and synthesizing that information in an easy-to-read manner. SGE also displays links to sources on the right-hand side.
With increased competition from ChatGPT, an AI chatbot that can seemingly answer any question with a novel answer in seconds, it’s put pressure on Google to release a similar product. Google released Bard earlier this year, but it made errors and didn’t surprise people in the same way ChatGPT did. Granted, Bard has gotten better since its reveal. Microsoft’s Bing has also been running head-first into the AI race, partnering with OpenAI, creators of ChatGPT, to integrate the chatbot’s tech directly into Bing results.
Considering that Google makes the lion’s share of its money from Search, it’s not too surprising that it’s has been quick to push out more experimental products to push back against competition.
How to use the new share function in Google Search
First, you need to sign up for SGE:
- Open Chrome on your computer or open the Google App.
- Sign in to your Google account.
- Open a new tab in your browser.
- On the top-right, click the Labs icon (it looks like a beaker) if it’s available to you.
- If Labs icon is there, click Join Waitlist.
Once you’ve signed up for SGE, here’s how to use the share function:
- Type in your search to Google.
- Once results appear, hover over a link.
- A share icon should appear towards the left.
- There will also be icons to save the link to your account or export it to Google Sheets.
On the Google App, you can swipe towards the left to reveal sharing options, according to 9to5Google. Unfortunately, CNET’s test unit doesn’t seem to have this enabled, meaning the update may still be rolling out to all users.
On mobile, it’s still possible to click on the three dots to the right-side of a link and tap share. Unfortunately, the export to Sheets function doesn’t seem to be enabled on mobile at the moment.
Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.