On Thursday, July 24, 2025, Google quietly rolled out its latest Search Labs experiment called Web Guide, grouping pages by aspects of your query (and yes, it almost feels sentient). It’s a neat AI-powered twist on the way results show up. It might feel like a small tweak, but it could change how we hunt for info.
Breaking Down Web Guide
So what’s in the box? Web Guide uses Google’s Gemini model to understand the nuance in your search, then fans out related pages you might have missed. It’s essentially an evolution of that fan-out technique from AI Mode, redesigned to cluster results into themed sections.
- The benefits and risks of running on wet vs. dry sand
- What shoes (if any) are best for running on a beach?
- Hydration and sun protection tips
It’s inviting you to dive deeper, encourage exploration—right in the search results.
I’ve tried something similar elsewhere, but Web Guide feels more intuitive—almost like it knows what you’re getting at. Wait, that’s not quite right; it feels like a friend quietly sorting your bookmarks. At least, that’s how it seems on my end.
Maybe it’s a bit rough, but isn’t that what experiments are for?
Why It Feels Different
What grabbed me is how Web Guide tackles those open-ended, meandering queries—”things to know about running on the beach” or the kind of complex question you’d pin on a forum, like staying in touch across multiple time zones. It’s like having a personal librarian who actually listens, yeah? At the very least, it’s less of a slog than scanning dozens of snippets for the one nugget you need.
Testing the Waters
You’ll have to opt in via Search Labs to try it out—so it’s still behind a velvet rope of sorts. Flip it on, choose the Web tab, and see the magic. Don’t want the rearranged view? Toggle it off right there, no need to abandon the whole experiment. Smart move by Google, because fiddling with core search behavior can be unsettling if you can’t revert quickly.
A little rough around the edges? Sure. The categories sometimes overlap, or you might see a section that’s just a list of links you’d never clicked anyway. But that’s the point of experiments: to see where things break and then polish. Over time, Google plans to spread Web Guide to the All tab and beyond. Could it become the default someday? Possibly—if they iron out the kinks.
What do you think? Does this organized approach spark joy or feel like over-engineering? Drop a comment below with your impressions.
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Sources:
- www.techcrunch.com/2025/07/24/googles-new-web-guide-search-experiment-organizes-results-with-ai/
- www.searchengineland.com/google-web-guide-for-ai-organized-search-results-459439
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