Google is bringing more generative AI to Search
Images: Google
Users will soon experience a major shift in the way they interact with Google Search. At its annual developers conference last week, Google unveiled plans to roll out new AI-powered summaries in its default search results, starting with the US and eventually expanding worldwide.
These new âAI Overviewsâ automatically answer certain searches with a summary from Googleâs Gemini chatbot, complete with a list of citations to websites. Theyâre meant to be the Vegas headliner of Search results, appearing at the top of the page, while Googleâs traditional search results appear below.
And, like it or not, this is the new Search normal. Users canât opt-out of AI Overviews, unlike Googleâs Search Generative Experience, a tool introduced last May that provided similar AI-generated responses.
- Not all searches receive an AI Overview, however. Google says they only appear in scenarios where testing has found they provide clear value, such as answering lengthy queries.
AI Overviews has received significant pushback. Online publishers are concerned itâll cause their web traffic to plummet, since users wonât need to click through to the source for information. According to estimates from consulting firm Gartner, websites across the board will see a 25% drop in search-engine referral traffic by 2026 due to AI-powered tools.
A potential side effect of this drop:
- Some experts argue a significant decrease in web traffic will make it less appealing for people to share knowledge with others online, knowing their posts wonât get as much visibility.
- And, since generative AI systems rely on web-based information to answer questions, search engine tools like AI Overview could result in less accurate, less timely, and less interesting information.
On the flip side: Google says itâs committed to prioritizing sending traffic to publishers, and cited test data showing that people clicked on links incorporated in AI Overviews more than when they were displayed as normal search results.
Looking ahead⊠AI Overviews are expected to be rolled out to all US users within the next several days, and will be available worldwide by yearâs end.
đ Flash poll: In general, do you support the introduction of AI Overviews into Google Search results?
See a 360° view of what media pundits are saying â
Sprinkles in favor of search engines with AI-powered results
- Some commentators argue that Googleâs new AI Overview and similar AI-powered tools are likely to improve the user experience for the vast majority of searches, serving as a great jumping-off point for deeper investigations.
- Others contend that AI-powered search engine tools like those from Google and Perplexity can help break up the current monopoly within the search engine industry, and end up benefiting consumers in the long run.
- âGoogle's AI new wrinkle for old issueâ âThe Daily Nonpareil Editorial Board
- âCan This A.I.-Powered Search Engine Replace Google? It Has for Me.â âKevin Roose, NY Times
- âThe real wolf menacing the news business? AI.â âJim Albrecht, WaPo
Sprinkles against search engines with AI-powered results
- Some commentators argue that tools like Googleâs AI Overview breaks the unwritten rule that governed the internet since its early days: websites allow Googleâs web crawler to index their content so it can appear in search results, thus receiving traffic, and Google gets to be one of the most valuable companies on Earth.
- Others contend that current AI-based search engines may perform certain tasks better than normal Google Search, it will be incredibly difficult for any such product to unseat the normal Search experience at the center of the web.
- âGoogleâs New Search Engine Is Bad News for the Web Economyâ âDave Lee, Bloomberg
- âHereâs why AI search engines really canât kill Googleâ âDavid Pierce, The Verge
- âWhy you shouldnât trust AI search enginesâ âMelissa HeikkilĂ€archive, MIT Tech Review
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