Google opens AI search experiment to teenagers

Google has announced that it is opening its generative AI search experience to teenagers in the US - specifically those aged 13 to 17 so that they can benefit from the helpful capabilities generative AI has to offer.

"Today, we’re opening up access to SGE (Search Generative Experience) in Search Labs to more people - specifically, teens (13-17) in the US," Google said in a blogpost on Thursday. Starting this week, teens signed into a Google Account will be able to sign up for Search Labs to access select Labs experiences through the Google app or Chrome desktop.

As the company introduced this new technology to teens, Google said it wants to strike the right balance in creating opportunities for them to benefit from all it has to offer, while also prioritising safety and meeting their developmental needs. Informed by research and experts in teen development, the company have built additional safeguards into the experience. The expansion to teenagers comes as Google notes that since the launch of SGE, it has discovered that the experience is more popular among younger users. Google said the most satisfied users are those aged 18 to 24, who the company believes prefer to ask questions in a more conversational tone. Moreover, Google has introduced a new feature to give users more context about the content they see.

The company has rolled out 'About this result' in SGE, so people who have opted into Search Labs will be able to use this tool on AI-powered responses. "This will give people helpful context, such as a description of how SGE generated the response, so they can understand more about the underlying technology," Google said.