Google expands AI mode with ‘Canvas’, real-time visual search and smarter file integration
Among the highlights is Canvas, a side panel feature that lets users create dynamic study guides and build structured plans across multiple sessions.
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Google is significantly expanding the capabilities of AI Mode, its experimental generative AI layer within Search, with new tools designed to help users organise complex information and interact with Search more naturally and visually.
Among the highlights is Canvas, a side panel feature that lets users create dynamic study guides and build structured plans across multiple sessions. Whether you're preparing for an exam or researching a topic in depth, you can now click “Create Canvas” to start organising your materials. The AI helps build the structure, which you can customise further with follow-up prompts, reported TechCrunch.
Soon, users will also be able to upload files—like class notes or a syllabus—directly into Canvas to fine-tune their guides. The feature is expected to roll out in the coming weeks for users in the U.S. who are part of the AI Mode Labs experiment.
Google is also introducing Search Live, which brings Project Astra capabilities into AI Mode using Google Lens. By pointing their phone cameras at objects or text and tapping the Live icon in the Google app, users can have real-time, back-and-forth conversations with Search, now powered by visual context.
This feature is now rolling out on mobile in the U.S. for AI Mode Labs users.
AI for What’s on Your Screen Another major update: users can now activate AI Mode on desktop to ask questions about what’s on their screen. With Lens in AI Mode, users can click “Ask Google about this page” from the address bar, highlight an image or diagram—like a geometry problem—and instantly receive an AI Overview. From there, they can hit the “Dive deeper” button or select AI Mode to continue the conversation with more questions.
This interactive search experience is also expanding to documents. AI Mode now supports PDF uploads on desktop, allowing users to ask context-aware questions about lecture slides, reports, or other detailed documents. Support for additional file types, including content from Google Drive, is expected later this year.
