Google Merges AI overviews with conversational mode

Spotify Wrapped was the highlight of this week across all social media. Seeing the different genres of music everyone listens to is quite fascinating. Makes me wonder, would we someday have an annual overview of all the AI-powered solutions we used through the year and which one we leaned into the most? Just maybe!

Google is testing a feature that combines AI Overviews with AI Mode, letting you seamlessly switch from quick answers to deeper conversations with its Gemini AI.

Right now, when you search on Google, you often get an AI Overview at the top of results with a summary of key information. If you want to ask follow-up questions, you need to click over to AI Mode, Google's conversational interface that works like ChatGPT.

The new test removes that extra step. After getting your AI Overview, you can immediately start asking follow-up questions without switching tabs. The feature is rolling out globally on mobile devices.

Google VP Robby Stein says the goal is to let users just ask whatever's on their mind without thinking about where or how to ask it. The idea makes sense since simple searches often lead to wanting more information.

The timing is interesting. OpenAI recently went into what they're calling "Code Red" mode to improve ChatGPT as Google's AI products gain traction. Gemini has grown to over 650 million monthly users, while AI Overviews has 2 billion monthly users. Merging the two features could give Google an even bigger advantage in the AI race.

Meta has snagged Alan Dye, the design executive who led Apple's user interface team for the past decade. It's a major coup as Meta pushes deeper into smart glasses and VR headsets.

Dye will lead a new creative studio within Reality Labs, focusing on AI features for Meta's consumer devices. He'll report directly to Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth.

At Apple, Dye is being replaced by Steve Lemay, who's been working on Apple interfaces since 1999. Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed the change.

The new studio brings together several design teams, including former Apple designer Billy Sorrentino, Meta's industrial design group, and its metaverse design teams. Mark Zuckerberg said the goal is to merge design, fashion, and technology for the next generation of Meta products.

Meta has been aggressively recruiting from rivals lately. The company poached researchers from OpenAI earlier this year. According to reports, Zuckerberg even hand-delivered homemade soup to one OpenAI employee as part of his recruitment pitch. OpenAI's chief research officer later joked he's now delivering soup to Meta employees.

Zuckerberg described the studio's mission as treating intelligence as a design material and imagining what's possible when AI is abundant and human-centered.

TikTok is rolling out a new "Nearby Feed" that shows users what's happening around them. The feature is launching in the U.K., France, Italy, and Germany, helping people discover local restaurants, events, and attractions.

The feed shows content based on your location, interests, and when it was posted. You might see videos about nearby restaurants, local events, or things to do in your area. TikTok first tested this back in 2022 in Southeast Asia.

Sharing your location is optional and only available to users 18 and older. When enabled, TikTok uses your phone's GPS to give more accurate recommendations. iPhone users will see an indicator when their location is being tracked.

Your content won't appear in the Nearby Feed if you're under 18, have a private account, or set your posts to Friends or Only You. You can also change your location manually, which is handy for planning trips or checking out another city.

TikTok says the feed helps local businesses by increasing visibility and driving foot traffic. The company claims 46% of UK users have visited a local business after seeing it on the platform.

You can find the Nearby Feed on the TikTok home screen. Instead of saying "Nearby," the tab will show the name of your current location. There's no word yet on when it might expand to other countries.

Meta has bought Limitless, the startup behind an AI-powered pendant that records and transcribes conversations. The deal, announced Friday, marks the end of Limitless as a hardware company.

The $99 pendant, which clips to your shirt or hangs like a necklace, is no longer for sale. Existing customers will get support for another year and won't have to pay subscription fees anymore. The company is also shutting down its original desktop software, Rewind, which recorded everything on your screen.

Limitless raised over $33 million from investors including a16z and First Round Capital. But as co-founder Dan Siroker hinted in the announcement, competing became tough once giants like OpenAI and Meta started building their own AI hardware. When they started five years ago, AI hardware seemed like a long shot. Now everyone's doing it.

Meta doesn't seem interested in the pendant itself. The Limitless team will join Meta's Reality Labs to work on AI wearables like the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Current users can export or delete their data through the app.

The acquisition shows how quickly smaller AI hardware startups are being swallowed up by tech giants with deeper pockets.

YouWare" is an AI-powered platform and community that allows users to create, design, and deploy websites and web applications using natural language descriptions, a process they call "vibe coding".