Will Generative AI change how we use Google Search?
Google has integrated AI technology into Google Search to provide its users with a different view of how they will discover and consume information.
Google has built this huge knowledge base of facts about places, people, and things – all that is just for you to get an answer to your questions in seconds! This is all made possible by a new Gemini model customised for Google Search. In this article, I will discuss how the new Generative AI will change how we search for information on Google.
AI Overviews
People will get access to an AI overview where they can get quick data overviews, links, and images of products, as well as previously answered questions by other users on the same topic. Users will get more information about the same topic from different sources, which means it will be a combination of sponsored ads and organic results that will give the user the answer they are searching for.
With the Gemini model’s multi-step reasoning capabilities, AI Overviews will help you with increasingly hard and complex questions. It means you won’t need to ask Google multiple questions, you will be able to type everything in one question including which place is best to visit at a specific time. You won’t need to make a separate search to get directions or booking links. AI Overview will also provide you with a summary of the place and suggest products and services that could solve your problem.
Planning in Google Search
Another useful capability from Google is planning directly in search. You will be able to ask Google to plan a quick city break, a holiday abroad or just a meal plan for your family. Later in the year, Google will be releasing another update that will allow users to plan parties, events and workouts using the data you have shared with Google.
Ask a Question by Uploading a Video to AI
We already know that you are able to search using an image to find the products you want to buy! But what about more difficult problems that are hard to explain and are easier to show?
Google will be introducing advancements in video understanding, where you will be able to take a visual search and ask a question. Searching with video will save you the time and trouble of finding the right words to describe the problem you are facing, and you’ll get an AI Overview with steps and information to solve the problem.
SEO and Google’s Generative AI Overview
AI Overviews will appear at the top of Google’s search result page, providing users with an AI-written summary. The results are generated using Google’s Gemini LLM (Large Language Model), which means that it will take the information from a range of web sources into one single result. Differently, than what we have now the AI overview will provide multiple links to sources that will provide useful information to users query.
Regarding measuring your website performance in AI overview, Google still hasn’t announced anything regarding adding a feature to Search Console to show how many clicks or impressions a website will get. Determining the exact impact on organic traffic will be difficult.
So, if you will find that your organic impressions and clicks have dropped it is likely due to users using the AI overview. I’m sure Google will still implement a feature which will show that your website content is providing useful information to users and find a way to measure that in the Search Console.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Google’s integration of generative AI into its Search platform marks a significant shift in how users will access and interact with information. The introduction of AI-generated overviews, planning tools, and video-based search capabilities will enhance the search experience, making it more efficient and comprehensive.
However, this evolution may pose challenges for website performance metrics, as the impact on organic traffic remains uncertain. As AI continues to shape the future of search, it will be crucial for both users and content creators to adapt to these changes and the new dynamics they bring to information discovery.
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