Google Search AI Overviews testing new Gemini animation

Abner Li | Dec 28 2024 - 7:15 pm PT

Google is testing a new Gemini-aligned loading animation for AI Overviews in Search that is flashier and bolder than the current approach.

When loading, AI Overviews first say “Searching…” before switching to “Generating…” with blue lines of text appearing just before the text comes in. It’s badged with the Gemini sparkle + “AI Overview” or beaker + “Search Labs | AI Overview” if you’re in that beta program.

Google is now testing a new animation in Search Labs that immediately says “Generating…” in the top-left corner followed by “Looking this up” lower in the page and then “Putting it all together.” There is a blue and purple spotlight pulsating through the rectangular container that more explicitly connects AI Overviews to Gemini. A similar glow appears around the Gemini overlay on Android and in Gemini Live.

The label at the top says “Generative AI is experimental,” which harkens back to the early days of AI Overviews.

This could just be a new animation, but one possibility is that the new look coincides with Gemini 2.0. Earlier this month, the company started testing the new model for AI Overviews in Search. Google said Gemini 2.0’s “advanced reasoning capabilities” will help AI Overviews “tackle more complex topics and multi-step questions, including advanced math equations, multimodal queries and coding,” with a broader rollout “early next year. That would explain the badge and why it seems to be a hair slower than what’s in stable.

There are a handful of reports about this new animation, but it’s not yet launched for all users.