Google has announced significant enhancements to its AI-powered search feature, which uses artificial intelligence to summarize search queries and present compiled answers above traditional search results. This move comes after months of fine-tuning the feature, which initially faced a problematic launch in May.
New Developments in AI Search
In a recent blog post, Google detailed several updates to its AI Search feature aimed at improving user experience and search relevance. According to Google, users are now visiting a broader range of websites to find answers to more complex questions. Additionally, visitors arriving at these sites via AI Overviews tend to spend more time on them compared to those using traditional search results.
To further enhance the relevance of information, Google is introducing a new link display on the right side of the AI Overview on desktops, along with a “site icons” button for mobile users. Some users may also see additional links to relevant websites embedded within the AI summaries, a feature that has reportedly increased site traffic.
Enhancing Site Traffic and Transparency
Google acknowledges concerns that AI Overviews could potentially reduce website traffic by providing answers directly within the search results. However, the company claims that the new linking system is actually driving higher traffic to websites. Although these features are being rolled out gradually, not all users have access to them yet.
This update appears to be an effort to provide more transparent and user-friendly information sources, possibly in response to Microsoft’s Bing, which offers more comprehensive citations and detailed information in its AI summaries.
Introducing Search Labs
Google’s experimental platform, “Search Labs,” allows users to test new features that might eventually be integrated into Google Search. Among the new features announced are the abilities to “save” an AI Overview for later reference and to “simplify” the language of AI-generated answers. While some might see this as an oversimplification of already summarized content, these features aim to make complex information more accessible.
Search Labs is currently available only to users in the United States who sign up for the beta program.
Global Rollout of AI Overviews
Google is expanding the AI Overviews feature to several countries, including Brazil, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. The company has taken steps to reduce the frequency of answers from less trustworthy sources such as Reddit and Quora, and to limit the types of queries that trigger an AI overview.
Despite these improvements, the long-term viability and usefulness of AI Overviews as a search tool remain uncertain.
