16/06/2026
Search for information is starting to feel a lot less like searching 🔍
Google has now rolled out a feature called Search Live, and it changes the way people interact with search.
Instead of typing a question, you can point your phone at something and ask about it out loud.
For example, you could point your camera at a piece of equipment and ask what it is, how it works, or how to fix it 🤳
The system then responds with a spoken answer, shows captions on screen, and keeps listening so you can ask follow-up questions naturally.
It feels less like using a search engine, and more like having a conversation.
Under the hood, this is powered by Google’s Gemini AI, but you don’t need to understand any of that to use it. You simply open the Google app, tap “Live”, and start asking.
From a business point of view, this is where it gets interesting.
Search is moving away from keywords and towards intent.
Instead of someone typing “how to reset boiler model X”, they might just point their phone at it and ask the question out loud.
That changes how people find answers, how they interact with information, and potentially how they discover products and services.
It also raises expectations.
People will expect faster answers, clearer explanations, and fewer steps between “I have a problem” and “I know what to do next”.
That said, it’s not perfect.
In testing, the tool sometimes misidentifies objects or misses details, especially when something has been modified or isn’t widely documented online.
That’s because it’s still relying on existing data to make sense of what it sees.
While it’s impressive, it’s not something to blindly trust.
More than a billion people were already using tools like Google Lens to identify objects. Now that capability is becoming conversational, faster, and more accessible.
It’s easy to imagine this becoming a default way people look things up over time.
For you, the implication is simple.
The way people ask questions is changing. And when that changes, the way they find answers changes with it.
🤔 So, if your customers can point their phone at a problem and ask for help, would your business be part of the answer they hear?