Google's AI Search Going Live
Google is testing generative AI in its main search results — here's what we know
Hey Everyone,
Something big is about to happen to Search. Will Generative AI change how we as consumers eventually use search? Will the landscape of the web itself be changed by LLMs? We’re literally about to find out.
We know that OpenAI will eventually launch its own version of AI search with the help of Bing, and there is Perplexity which some people enjoy.
However Google is going to roll-out AI summaries and other AI features of Search more broadly soon. You might remember the demo of May, 2023 of how Generative AI might chance Search by Google.
Improving Search with generative AI
Google said that with its new generative AI capabilities in Search, they’re now taking more of the work out of searching, so you’ll be able to understand a topic faster, uncover new viewpoints and insights, and get things done more easily. That thing that some of us opted into is going live to more folk.
Search Generative Experience (SGE)
Google is starting to use artificial intelligence to answer user questions rather than just point them to a list of links. This appears to be the latest part of an expansion of its Search Generative Experience (SGE).
SGE is an early step in transforming the Search experience with generative AI.
When appropriate, SGE will show an AI-powered snapshot to help people quickly get an overview on a topic, with factors to consider and helpful information.
Google considers these like “snapshots serve as a jumping-off point” from which people can explore a wide range of content and perspectives on the web.
Google’s Search History with SGE
SGE was launched as an opt-in Google Search Labs experiment in May last year, expanding to over 120 countries and territories in November.
Now in mid 2024, it appears more general roll-outs are coming.
Testing
So far Google has kept SGE separate from its usual results, but according to Search Engine Land a small subset of U.S. users asking about a small number of topics will get the SGE experience even if they haven't opted into the experiment.
Basically this is the first time that some users who do not opt in to the Google Search labs SGE feature may see AI overview answers in the search results.
