Google has quietly introduced “conversational search” to Google Search users using the Chrome browser.  The feature was introduced during last week’s Google I/O, and though some claim it’s not really new since the feature already exists on Google’s mobile app, there are some noteworthy additions to the service.

First off, the feature is not yet available for everyone with the Chrome browser.  It seems the Conversations update has been quietly released in the US first, and will eventually make its way across the globe.

How to use the new Conversations features

To use conversational search, you just need to click on the “microphone” icon on the search bar and say what you want Google to search for you.  Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan did a voice search inquiring President Barack Obama’s age.  That feature is nothing new, but now it talks back to you and provides an information card with everything  you need at a glance.  So it’s like you’re having a conversation with your computer.

And because of Google’s Knowledge Graph, Search is now more like a person who can keep up with the conversation.  By just saying, “how tall is he,” Search was able to determine that Sullivan’s question was still pertaining to Obama, and returned results about the President’s height.  Sullivan was able to ask other questions related to Obama, like who his wife is and her age, but be informed that this query was not flawlessly executed.  Sullivan has to try it a couple of times to get the results he wanted.  Still, the feature and its early capabilities are pretty impressive.

Also, not all the results will be read out loud, some queries such as “places to eat in San Francisco” wherein Google responded with “There are several listings for restaurants near San Francisco,”  followed by a list of local restaurants with reviews.

There are still some wrinkles to be ironed out and people are still waiting for voice activated search, where you say a hot word, such as “OK Google” to activate voice search.

Also, conversation search is not available when typing your queries, but some believe that it may be a future feature.

In other Search news, Google Trends has been updated with Top Charts that depict the most-searched people, places and things in more than 40 categories, from movies to sports teams to tourist attractions.  Top Charts is built on Knowledge Graph so it shows you “real-world things” and not just based on keywords that people searched for.

Another addition is the Hot Searches visualization which when clicked, delivers a full screen, colorful visualization of trending topics in real-time.