Google might be giving Microsoft a master class in search with an ‘app for Windows’
What you need to know
- The “Google app for Windows” was announced today (Sep 19), an app that’s entering its Search Labs testing grounds for PC users.
- This new app, accessed by pressing the Alt+Space key combo, will surface Google’s Search bar for AI Overviews.
- This bar also features Google Lens, meaning users can search or translate items on their screen without “interrupting their flow.”
Google’s launching a new app, not for your phone, but for your Windows PC, as it looks to capitalize on bringing quick assistance from anywhere on your device.
This new app launch is wrapped in Google’s experimental environment, Labs, per a Keyword post. Windows users can sign up and begin testing “Google app for Windows.” According to the post, Windows users can quickly “search without switching windows or interrupting your flow” by pressing the key combo Alt+Space. Users will receive the classic rounded corner Google Search bar with a convenient Lens icon on the far-right side.
The Lens icon lets users run a search using the content on their screen, which will provide image and text translations, too.
The company goes a bit further in its Search Labs page for the test. It explains that users can run web searches with the Google app for Windows and run searches through their Drive files, installed apps, and download files. AI Overviews in Search will also reportedly be present when using the app. Additionally, Search’s AI Overviews will offer aid with students’ homework. It’s similar to the Gemini app’s “Guided Learning,” but more bite-sized through the short overview.
This Google app for Windows Labs experiment is currently available for English users in the U.S. Users with a Windows device running Windows 10 or higher can join; however, space is limited for this test, so if you’re interested, get in quickly.
Google’s AI heads to Windows
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Google tried its hand at a Windows app last year, when it launched the Essentials app. The idea was that the app would gather all of Google’s services into one place, so users wouldn’t have to look for their email, YouTube, and more. Access to Google Photos, Messages, Sheets, and Drive was readily available from a PC’s start menu. The company even had Essentials pre-loaded onto computers from HP, Envy, Pavilion, and even some Omen models.
This new Google app for Windows takes things in a new direction, as the company attempts to mirror the usefulness you’d find on its Pixel 10 series and other Android phones.
Google recently announced that it’s gearing up for some major Chrome upgrades, thanks to Gemini. Users on desktop computers will soon find a Gemini icon present in the browser for huge AI services, like webpage and YouTube video summaries. Moreover, the address bar (a.k.a the omnibox) is getting AI Mode. Users can activate AI Mode and ask more complex questions without having to visit Google Search directly.
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