In addition to adding connections to pertinent websites for some of the AI-generated summaries it provides for specific Google Search queries, Google will start to include advertisements in AI Overviews. This week, it is also launching AI-organized search results pages in the United States.
Google is attempting to prevent customers from switching to alternatives like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Perplexity, which employ AI to respond to a large number of queries that are often directed at Google, by incorporating AI more and more into its core search offering. In May, Perplexity said that over 85 million people have visited its website globally. This number is small in comparison to Google's, but noteworthy given that Perplexity was just founded two years prior. Find Out More About: Builder.ai Founded by Sachin Dev Duggal, gets $250 million from Qatar Investment Authority; valuation jumps by 1.8x
Since its launch this spring, AI Overviews has been the subject of much controversy, going viral for its dubious statements and questionable advice (like adding glue to pizza). A recent report from SE Ranking, an SEO platform, found that AI Overviews cites websites that “aren’t entirely reliable or evidence-based,” including outdated studies and paid product listings.
The chief problem is that AI Overviews has a tough time discerning, occasionally, whether a source of information is fact or fiction, satire or serious. Over the past few months, Google has made changes to how AI Overviews works, including limiting answers related to current events and health topics. But the company doesn’t claim it’s perfect.
“We’ll invest in AI Overviews and make it even more helpful,” Rhiannon Bell, VP of user experience for Google Search, said in a press briefing. “We’re doing everything that we can to bring the right content to our users.”
Regardless, Google says AI Overviews has led to a boost in Google Search engagement, especially among people aged 18 to 24 — a key demographic for the company.
Now Google is taking steps to make money from the feature by adding ads.
Users in the U.S. on mobile will soon see ads in AI Overviews for “relevant queries,” like a search for how to get a grass stain out of jeans. The ads, which have a “Sponsored” label, will appear alongside other, nonsponsored content in the AI summaries and will be drawn from advertisers’ existing Google Shopping and Search campaigns.
AI Overviews ads have been available to a selection of users for some time, and Google claims internal data shows they’ve been received well.
Shashi Thakur, VP of Google advertisements, stated in a blog post shared with TechCrunch that "people have been finding the ads within AI Overviews helpful because they can quickly connect with relevant businesses, products and services to take the next step at the exact moment they need them."
However, the adverts also overshadow the summaries of AI Overviews. One format is directly integrated into AI summaries and is a carousel of sponsored product results that puts nonsponsored material below the fold.
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