MOUNTAIN VIEW, United States (AFP) — Search engine Google on Tuesday showed off its plan to turn its famous search bar into an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant that can book restaurants, track news and contact businesses — just by asking a question.

Three years after struggling to keep up with ChatGPT, Google has been racing to roll out AI tools that build on its grip over online search.

The company’s Gemini AI app now has 900 million monthly users, twice as many as last year. Its AI-powered search feature, AI Mode, is also taking off, with a claimed one billion monthly users worldwide.