Earlier this year, news broke that Google was planning to bring some version of its auto insurance comparison and shopping tools that are already available in the UK here to the US. Now, it's official, at least for drivers in California — the newly-launched Google Compare for auto insurance lets you comparison shop and buy car insurance right through Google's search engine.

If you start searching for car insurance-related terms in Google's search engine, you'll start getting options to see quotes and do comparisons right through Google itself (you can also just go straight to Google's comparison site). Then you put in your zip code, your car, and a whole host of additional info to hone in on accurate quotes from a number of insurance providers. Once that's done, you'll get a listing of quotes, but you don't actually complete the purchase on Google's site. Instead, you'l take that quote over to the insurance provider to sign up if you're so inclined. However, to make things easier, Google provides you with a reference number and a phone number to call if you want to finish your purchase over the phone.

At first glance, it seems like a pretty useful tool if you're looking to save some cash on your car insurance policy — and while it's only useful in California right now, Google said it would roll it out to other states soon.