Google recently unveiled a sneak peek of what could potentially be one of its most significant updates to its search engine at the I/O event. This announcement confirmed the concerns of publishers and bloggers who have been worried about the impact of AI on their web traffic.
Google’s new feature, called Search Generative Experience, leverages AI models to aggregate and summarize content from the internet in response to search queries. Instead of the typical ten blue links, users will now see paragraphs of AI-generated content, known as AI Overviews, at the top of the search results page, accompanied by a few relevant links.
The rollout of AI Overviews has begun in the US, where hundreds of millions of Americans will start seeing summaries produced by Google’s AI technology at the top of their search results page this week. Google plans to extend this new layout to over a billion internet users worldwide by the end of the year.
When users search for specific terms, such as “Moroccan steak preparation recipes” or “car rentals in New York,” the answers, powered by Google’s Gemini AI technology, will appear prominently at the top of the search results page. These results will include concise descriptions and a list of links for further information and follow-up queries, while regular search results will still be available further down the page.
These updates mark the most significant changes to Google’s search results page in years and reflect the company’s commitment to incorporating generative AI into its products. Users have already been testing AI Overviews through Google’s Search Labs program, with positive feedback on their accuracy and helpfulness.
Google’s decision to integrate AI into its core business may have been influenced by products like Perplexity, an AI-powered search service, and rumors of OpenAI’s potential development of an AI search product. Microsoft’s integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT into Bing search also put pressure on Google to keep up in the AI race.
Despite Google’s progress in developing major AI models in-house, the company has faced criticism for being late to leverage AI fully. However, Google’s perfectionist approach, where products are released only after reaching maturity, has delayed the launch of certain AI features. For example, its image generator remains offline due to concerns about racial bias.
Coinciding with Google’s AI announcements, OpenAI revealed its ChatGPT-4o model, which understands visuals and voice commands, adding to the competition in the AI space.
These advancements in AI search technology have raised concerns among publishers, as a significant portion of their traffic comes from users discovering their content through Google search. Publishers generate revenue through subscriptions and advertisements, which fund the creation of new content that Google then displays to its users. Experts estimate that the implementation of Search Generative Experience could result in up to $2 billion in ad revenue loss across the industry. While Google argues that the links included in AI Overviews have a higher click-through rate, publishers remain skeptical.
Publishers are also worried about Google’s claim that users spend more time on search with AI integration. This suggests that users may not click on the website links that provide the summarized content when they find what they’re looking for directly on Google’s search page.
While the introduction of AI Overview marks the beginning of a new era in the search industry, publishers’ concerns are valid and it remains to be seen how this development will play out.
