Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL; DR
- Google has announced plans to test Search and Shopping ads within AI Overviews (SGE) for US users.
- AI summaries use AI to summarize relevant information and eliminate the need to visit external links.
- AI Summaries have been rolled out to all US users, with a wider global release expected soon.
Googling has already rolled out AI-powered search results, known as AI Overviews or Seeking Generative Experience (SGE), for all users in the United States. SGE aims to provide instant answers and summaries to searches, potentially changing the way users find information online. And now Google is adding ads to it.
With SGE, Google's AI condenses relevant information, eliminating the need for users to visit external links. While the convenience of instant answers is a clear benefit, there are legitimate concerns about whether users can fully trust Google's AI for information and about the potential for misinformation if summaries are inaccurate or incomplete.
Additionally, the potential decline in website traffic due to users finding answers directly in search results is a concern due to the impact on businesses that rely on Google for visibility and revenue. This is especially important because Google's revenue model is largely based on people seeing and clicking on ads related to their searches.
It looks like Google has solved at least part of the problem. In his latest Art and Trade bloggingGoogle announced that it will soon start testing Search and Shopping ads within AI Overviews for US users. These ads are clearly marked as 'sponsored' and appear when they are relevant to the search query and summary information. Google claims that early testing shows that users find these ads useful and assures its commitment to driving valuable traffic to publishers and creators.
Integrating ads into AI feeds could raise additional concerns, especially if Google's generative AI plays a role in deciding which ads to show. For the end user, this would feel like we're back to square one, with the introduction of ads defeating the original purpose of using AI to provide quick, clear summaries of searches.
Despite these concerns, Google claims that AI summaries improve the search experience, stating that users who use SGE are more likely to use Search more often and be more satisfied with the results. Additionally, the company claims that clicks from AI summaries are of higher quality, meaning users spend more time on linked websites.