Design Better Podcast: Rhiannon Bell on Designing the Future of Search at Google

Podcast Information:

• Title: Design Better
• Host/Authors: Eli Woolery and Aaron Walter
• Sponsored by: Wix Studio
• Episode: Rhiannon Bell: Designing the Future of Search at Google
• Release Date: July 23, 2025
• Description: Design Better delves into the synergy between design, technology, and creativity, featuring insightful conversations with experts across various creative disciplines to inspire and inform both novice and seasoned designers.

Introduction

In the July 23, 2025 episode of Design Better, hosts Eli Woolery and Aaron Walter engage in a profound conversation with Rhiannon Bell, Vice President of User Experience for Google Search. The discussion centers around the transformative impact of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) on one of the world's most utilized products—Google Search. As AI reshapes the landscape of information retrieval, Rhiannon shares her insights on navigating this evolution, balancing business objectives with user experience, and fostering innovation through curiosity and play.

Rhiannon Bell: Background and Role at Google

Rhiannon Bell brings a wealth of experience to her role at Google, having transitioned from the advertising sector to search after four years with the company. This unique trajectory provides her with a comprehensive understanding of both the business mechanics and user-centric design principles that drive Google Search.

"I have a really good understanding, you're right. Of just sort of like the business aspect of search." (04:41)

Her dual perspective enables Rhiannon to view search not only as a business asset but also as a vital tool that creates value for both businesses and individual users.

Redefining Search with Generative AI

The advent of generative AI marks a pivotal shift in how search is conceptualized and designed. According to Rhiannon, "search as a product has been defined for like 27 years," and generative AI provides a blank slate to reinvent the user experience fundamentally.

"This is a particularly incredible opportunity because generative AI is giving us this opportunity to completely rethink that as designers and UXers." (03:32)

Her team is actively exploring innovative ways to integrate AI, striving to enable users to glean information through more intuitive and advanced methods.

Balancing Business Needs with User Experience

One of the core discussions revolves around harmonizing Google's business interests with delivering exceptional user experiences. Rhiannon emphasizes a holistic approach, where the value generated for businesses aligns seamlessly with user satisfaction.

"We think about these things holistically. We look at sort of like how these things can scale from the responses into business value as well." (05:34)

This balance ensures that while business metrics remain a priority, the user remains at the forefront of design decisions, fostering trust and long-term engagement.

The Future of Search: Multimodal and Conversational Interfaces

Looking ahead, Rhiannon envisions a search experience that transcends traditional text-based queries, embracing a multimodal interface that incorporates voice, images, and videos. This evolution aims to make interactions more natural and accessible.

"Freedom to switch between like voice and image and text is going to become just a natural way of interacting with search." (07:01)

She illustrates this with a personal anecdote: using Lens to identify plant species in a store, demonstrating how users can seamlessly integrate different modes of interaction to obtain information.

Design Considerations: Preserving Visual Elements

Eli Woolery raises a pertinent point about maintaining visual elements in a predominantly conversational interface. Rhiannon responds by highlighting that AI-generated responses will also be multimodal, incorporating images, charts, and other visual aids to enhance understanding.

"We can show me this in an image, show me this in a chart... a diagram, or through voice interaction." (08:57)

This approach ensures that high-bandwidth information is conveyed effectively, catering to diverse user preferences and learning styles.

Addressing Provenance and Trust in AI Responses

A critical challenge with generative AI is ensuring the reliability and trustworthiness of responses. Aaron Walter probes into how Google maintains transparency regarding information sources.

Rhiannon assures that trust signals are integral to their design philosophy: "We're giving you all of this supporting content for, like, onward journeys." (10:28)

By integrating direct links and references to authoritative sources, users can verify information and explore topics further, mitigating the risk of AI-generated inaccuracies or "hallucinations."

Google's Mission and Challenges in the Generative AI Era

Rhiannon discusses how generative AI enhances Google's mission to organize the world's information, making it more accessible and useful in novel ways. Features like agentive capabilities allow users to accomplish tasks directly through search, such as booking tickets or managing schedules.

"This allows us to deliver on it in ways that we haven't been able to before." (12:12)

This evolution not only streamlines user interactions but also introduces new dimensions to how information and services are accessed and utilized.

Impact on External Web Traffic and Quality

Addressing concerns about reduced traffic to external websites, Rhiannon clarifies that Google continues to direct users to the broader web. However, the traffic is now of higher quality, as users have more context and are better equipped to choose relevant destinations.

"We're still sending tons of traffic out into the web." (14:50)

This strategy ensures that while Google Search becomes more sophisticated, it still supports the ecosystem of online content creators and businesses.

Education and AI Tools: Fostering Learning Over Answers

The integration of AI into educational tools raises questions about preserving the learning process. Rhiannon explains that Google's design principles prioritize guiding users to understand concepts rather than merely providing answers.

"We have principles around never giving the answer and always working with a user to get to that response." (16:05)

This approach encourages active learning and critical thinking, ensuring that AI tools serve as aids in the educational journey rather than replacements for it.

Agentic Design and Workflow: Building Trust

In discussing agentic design, Rhiannon emphasizes the importance of building trust in AI-assisted workflows. Google's design strategy incorporates a "trust but confirm" mechanism, allowing users to oversee and verify the actions performed by AI agents.

"The trust piece is really, really important to us within Google in general, but I also think there's a particular emphasis on it in search in particular." (17:55)

This ensures that while AI can handle complex tasks, users retain control and confidence in the system's operations.

Conclusion

Rhiannon Bell's insights illuminate the intricate balance between innovation, user experience, and business imperatives in the evolving landscape of search technology. By embracing generative AI, Google Search is poised to offer more intuitive, multimodal, and trustworthy experiences, all while maintaining its foundational mission of organizing and making information universally accessible. The conversation underscores the pivotal role of thoughtful design in navigating the challenges and opportunities presented by AI, ensuring that advancements serve to enhance both user satisfaction and business value.

Key Quotes:

• "It's really important for us as creatives to not be afraid of these tools and really immerse ourselves in their capabilities from this creative perspective..." — Rhiannon Bell [00:01]

• "Search as a product has been defined for like 27 years..." — Rhiannon Bell [03:32]

• "Freedom to switch between like voice and image and text is going to become just a natural way of interacting with search." — Rhiannon Bell [07:01]

• "We're giving you all of this supporting content for, like, onward journeys." — Rhiannon Bell [10:28]

• "We have principles around never giving the answer and always working with a user to get to that response." — Rhiannon Bell [16:05]

• "The trust piece is really, really important to us within Google in general..." — Rhiannon Bell [17:55]

Timestamps:

• 00:01 - Rhiannon Bell emphasizes the importance of creatives embracing new tools.
• 03:32 - Rhiannon discusses the long-standing definition of search and AI's role in redefining it.
• 04:41 - Balancing business aspects with user-centric design.
• 05:34 - Holistic approach to integrating AI into search.
• 07:01 - Future of search as conversational and multimodal.
• 08:57 - Incorporating visual elements into AI-generated responses.
• 10:28 - Ensuring trust and provenance in AI responses.
• 12:12 - Enhancing Google's mission with generative AI.
• 14:50 - Impact of AI on external web traffic quality.
• 16:05 - Designing educational tools to foster active learning.
• 17:55 - Building trust in agentic AI workflows.