When Google added a new button for searching the internet using generative artificial intelligence, the feature had obvious flaws, such as its tendency to fabricate information, which made me doubt it would become my preferred tool for finding information online.

I'm shifting towards AI-powered search functionality.

But a year later, I admit I've become a fan. Although the technology is still imperfect, I increasingly use the "AI Mode" button on Google.com to type queries and complete tasks that would take minutes with traditional search.

It took some experimentation to get better results with AI-powered search, and the key was to get Google to work with a small amount of information instead of scouring the entire internet for answers.

Recently, I've used Google's AI-powered search to identify a car part for a repair, choose a spice at a grocery store, and uncover online scams. With traditional internet search, I would have had to use multiple keywords and read numerous articles to get the job done, but Google's AI completely automates the process.

A crucial warning to avoid misinformation:

I advise against using AI Mode as a regular search engine and looking for direct answers to questions. Google's AI often produces misleading information. Just last week, it incorrectly stated that a car diagnostic app could tell me if my car was ready for a hazy smoke emissions test—a feature that doesn't actually exist. A New York Times analysis found that about

10 percent of Google's AI-

generated answers were wrong (of course, an optimist might say that means 90 percent were correct).

With Google processing more than 5 trillion searches a year, that translates to tens of millions of incorrect answers every hour. In our analysis, Google got basic facts wrong, including historical dates, names, and celebrity news.

Google has said that the vast majority of its AI responses were accurate. The Times study refuted this, saying they don't reflect what people actually search for on Google. Regarding my issue with the car diagnostic app, Google also stated that its search AI technology can misinterpret web content.

A notable advantage in shopping compared to web search.

While we await further improvements in AI's ability to answer direct questions, we can still utilize it for other purposes where AI technology surpasses traditional keyword search. I'll share some of my favorite examples.