Eliana Willis

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETGoogle today updated AI Mode, making it a better fit for planning your summer vacation, shopping trip, or learning more about any topic. Plus, if you’re interested in trying the tool, access to it just got a lot easier.Google’s new AI Mode takes Search’s real-time information access and combines it with the best generative AI capabilities — such as longer natural queries and personalized answers — to create an AI search engine experience. It is especially helpful for nuanced questions with many criteria, like shopping and trip planning.Also: New Google Labs experiments help you learn new languages in ‘bite-sized’ lessons”We are really enabling, helping you shop and seek local businesses, and plan your travel much better,” said Soufi Esmaeilzadeh, the director of Search product management, to ZDNET. “We’re taking AI Mode and elevating it by connecting it to the rich content that we have in our shopping graph, as well as the millions of businesses that we have in our local database.” Shopping and trip planning cardsYou can already use AI Mode to learn about any topic, including products or trip destinations. However, with the latest update, AI Mode will display visual place and product cards that you can click for more information. Also: Want a quick daily podcast based on your interests? Try Google’s latest AI experimentWhile the emergence of AI agents has now made AI assistants that can book trips for you a reality, AI Mode serves as a research partner, helping you get the information you need to book your trip with ease. The same goes for shopping. When searching for a location, such as a restaurant, you will get information such as ratings, reviews, and hours, while products will show shippable options with real-time price, images, local inventory, and more. All the information is pulled freshly off the web, so it has the most up-to-date details. “If you ask a question like, ‘I’m looking for a midcentury modern furniture store where I want to get a dresser, and I’m looking for these particularities,’ the model can take that into consideration, respond, find the best businesses for you, and then allow you to access right there all the richness of the information the businesses that we have really worked for years to build out,” Esmaeilzadeh said. Access your past searchesAI Mode will now have a new left-side panel that contains your past searches. This panel allows you to reference these searches later or return to the conversation with follow-up questions. “In AI Mode, people really are engaging in follow-ups, and they are coming to it from more of these long-running journeys or research journeys, so we want to really make it easy in the product for people to be able to reference back the work that they did to pick up where they’ve left off,” Esmaeilzadeh said. Although it may seem like a basic feature, can you imagine a world where you never access your Google Search history? Similarly, accessing past conversations will be a valuable productivity tool. How to try AI ModeTo access AI Mode, users typically go to Google Labs and sign up for the waitlist — until now. If you want to try AI Mode for yourself, US users can now get immediate access. Visit Google Labs to get started. The feedback on AI Mode has been positive, with users reporting it to be helpful, according to Google. As a result, the company is expanding access through a limited test outside of Labs. A small percentage of US Google Search users will see the AI Mode tab on the Search page. Google says it will continue to use user feedback to enhance the model. Also: 5 easy Gemini settings tweaks to protect your privacy from AIGoogle took a similar rollout approach when it launched AI Overviews, the feature that populates an AI-generated summary at the top of your search results page. This experience eventually moved out of Labs and became a regular part of users’ search results. More

ZDNETMicrosoft’s Copilot Vision AI is a handy feature that will analyze, summarize, and field questions about what you see on your screen. You can use this on a mobile device to inspect a live feed from your camera or a printed document and on a PC to view your current web page. By scanning what’s on the screen, Copilot tries to understand the content to provide you with real-time, context-sensitive help.You can use Copilot Vision on an iPhone, on an Android phone, and in Microsoft Edge on your PC. For now, certain skills are freely available to all Copilot users, while others require a Copilot Pro subscription. Anyone can use Copilot in Edge to analyze the current web page. But you’ll need a Pro subscription to use Copilot Vision on a mobile device.Also: The best AI for coding in 2025 (including two new top picks – and what not to use)Copilot Vision works with most sites, except those with harmful or adult content. Also, it can’t scan a web page that’s restricted or hidden behind a login or paywall. If you visit an unsupported site, Copilot displays a grayed-out icon and crossed eyeglasses and will simply refuse to discuss the content on the page.To address privacy concerns, your requests and page content aren’t captured or stored. Copilot’s own responses are logged so that Microsoft can monitor them for unsafe conversations. After the session ends, though, all data is supposed to be deleted.Copilot Vision works through Copilot Voice in which you can carry on a back-and-forth conversation using natural language. You can choose among eight different voices, each with its own unique style. You’re also able to change the speed to coax the voice to speak faster or slower.Also: I retested Microsoft Copilot’s AI coding skills in 2025 and now it’s got serious gameAfter the conversation ends, return to the main screen and tap the hamburger icon to view your recent chats. Tap the first one at the top to see a transcript of the conversation you just completed.With Copilot Vision on your phone, you can get help and information on all kinds of items in the “real world,” such as photos, models, paintings, clothing, animals, plants, and much more, as well as any type of printed document. In Edge, you’re able to get details on any supported web page. Here’s how I use Copilot Vision to save time on both my phone and PC. More

Makhbubakhon Ismatova/Getty Images Final exams are stressful for students, requiring intense studying and long nights. However, AI can help ease the load.  Since generative AI first surged in popularity, the technology has typically received a bad rap in the education sector, with many believing it threatens academic standards and integrity. However, AI can also be a great […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The OnePlus Pad 2 is the company’s latest Android tablet with a premium design and flagship specs for $550. It’s compatible with a keyboard and pen that OnePlus sells separately, so you can turn it into an Android-powered laptop. While the multitasking features are excellent, and the Pad 2 checks all […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The 2025 iPad 11th Generation is on sale now for $299 (typically $349.) The upgraded iPad has double the base storage as year’s model, more RAM, and an upgraded processor in the A16 Bionic chip. However, it still isn’t compatible with Apple Intelligence and doesn’t support the Apple Pencil Pro. more […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The SwitchBot K10+ Combo is available for $400. This tiny-but-mighty robot vacuum cleaner comes with a lightweight, efficient handheld vacuum for a full home cleaning. The downside is that the mopping feature only uses disposable wet wipes with no water tank and the robot’s smaller size isn’t suitable for large cleaning […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Lorex 2K Wi-Fi video doorbell is available for $180. The doorbell comes in wired and wireless installations, communicates reliably, and includes a preinstalled 32GB microSD card for local storage so you can bypass subscription fees. Although it has a 2K resolution, the image is so wide angle that objects look […] More