Google's app for iPhones is adding a new 'Simplify' tool. It uses AI to make difficult text on the internet easier to understand, right on the webpage.

Simplify uses a method from Google Research to make prompts better. It uses Gemini to make hard text easier to understand, but it keeps the main points. Google tested this and found that people understood and remembered the original text better when it was simplified.

By adding a feature like Simplify, Google likely hopes people will stay with their tools and services for help with difficult topics, instead of using popular tools from other companies like OpenAI's ChatGPT.

To use Simplify, choose any text on a website you are visiting in the Google app and then tap the "Simplify" symbol that appears. You will then see a simpler form of the text to help you understand the information better so you can keep reading.

Google's research blog shows an example of what this feature could look like. For instance, you might read a sentence that says: "This condition is complex and affects the lungs in many ways, including damaging lung tissue, causing scarring, changing the lung's immune cells, increasing certain factors, and changing the blood vessels in the lungs."

This difficult illness damages the lungs in two ways: emphysema, which harms the air sacs, and fibrosis, which causes a lot of scarring. Inside the lungs, immune cells change, and the body makes more substances that control the immune system. The blood vessels in the lungs also change a lot.

Google says the feature is designed to help people understand difficult subjects they find when learning something new online.

Google said in a blog post, "Our goal is for our models to explain difficult ideas correctly, without adding mistakes or leaving out important details." They added, "The new text should help people understand hard topics while making sure the original information is still correct and complete."

Simplify is set to become accessible to iOS users later this week.