Latest news with #GoogleAIOverview
Engadget
4 days ago
- Business
- Engadget
Google: Actually, AI in Search is driving more queries and higher quality clicks
Last month, a Pew Research Center report shed light on Google's AI Overviews' effect on web publishing. In short, the analysis painted an abysmal outlook for anyone relying on web traffic. But on Wednesday, Google Search head Liz Reid penned a blog post that puts quite a different spin on things. The Google VP claims traffic from search to websites is "relatively stable" and that click quality has increased. Reid's framing boils down to everything is peachy, and AI is making things better — even for websites! She wrote that Google Search's total organic click volume to websites has been "relatively" stable year-over-year. Reid also claimed Google sends more "quality clicks" (visitors who don't quickly bounce) to websites than a year ago. The company says people are also happier with the search experience. The company didn't share any numbers — the post has no data whatsoever — to support its claims. Google's explanation for the rosy outlook? "With AI Overviews, people are searching more and asking new questions that are often longer and more complex," Reid wrote. "In addition, with AI Overviews, people are seeing more links on the page than before. More queries and more links mean more opportunities for websites to surface and get clicked." Reid does highlight a shifting landscape. She says user trends are resulting in lower traffic for some sites and increased traffic for others. Of course, the Google Search head didn't call out any specific websites. But she claims forums, videos, podcasts and posts with "authentic voices and first-hand perspectives" are thriving. Reid added that content like "an in-depth review, an original post, a unique perspective, or a thoughtful first-person analysis" does well. A Google AI Overview for the query (Google / Engadget) The Google VP said people seeking simple Q&A types of searches are leaning more on AI. "For some questions where people are looking for a quick answer, like 'when is the next full moon,' people may be satisfied with the initial AI Overviews response and not click further," Reid wrote. "This has also been true for other answer features we've added, like the Knowledge Graph or sports scores. But for many other types of questions, people continue to click through, as they want to dig deeper into a topic, explore further or make a purchase. This is why we see click quality increasing — an AI response might provide the lay of the land, but people click to dive deeper and learn more, and when they do, these clicks are more valuable." It's quite the contrast from the Pew report. It found that visitors who saw an AI summary clicked a traditional search result in eight percent of all visits. Those without an AI summary? They clicked on a traditional result in 15 percent of their visits. As for those source links in AI summaries? Pew found that only one percent of people clicked on those. Users were also more likely to end their browsing after visiting a page with an AI summary. That aligned with comments Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince made in June. He said search traffic referrals keep plummeting. "The future of the web is going to be more and more like AI, and that means that people are going to be reading the summaries of your content, not the original content," he said. Prince said that a decade ago, Google sent a publisher one visitor for every two pages it crawled. Early this year, it dropped to one visitor for every six pages. He said that, in June, it was down to one for every 18. I can't tell you who to believe. But here's what the ultimate source had to say: Straight from the source! (Google / Engadget)
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Business Standard
15-07-2025
- Business Standard
Google Discover on iOS, Android shows AI summaries, bookmark option: Report
Google is reportedly testing new features in its Discover feed on Android and iOS. As per a report by 9To5Google, the updates include AI-powered article summaries and an easier way to bookmark stories. The AI summaries will likely provide a snapshot of the news by combining information from multiple sources, while the save button may offer a quicker way to manage reading lists — all without leaving the feed. AI Summary feature in Discover feed As per the report, the new Discover cards display a cluster of small, overlapping icons, each representing a source used to generate the AI summary. Tapping on the icon group opens a 'More' page listing all articles used in the summary. Bookmark feature In addition to summaries, Google is also testing an improved bookmarking feature. A new 'Save' icon is placed directly on the Discover card between the heart and overflow menu, which will allow users to bookmark articles with simple taps. Bookmarked content appears in the Activity tab of the Google app. What is Google AI Overview AI Overviews in Google Search uses generative AI to give quick summaries of topics by pulling info from multiple websites. Unlike Google's featured snippets, they appear at the top of search results and include helpful links. They also include links so users can click and read more. This helps people get quick answers without needing to do many searches.
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Business Standard
15-07-2025
- Business Standard
Google Discover tests AI summaries and new Bookmark features: Reports
Google is reportedly testing new features in its Discover feed on Android and iOS. As per a report by 9To5Google, the updates include AI-powered article summaries and an easier way to bookmark stories. The AI summaries will likely provide a snapshot of the news by combining information from multiple sources, while the save button may offer a quicker way to manage reading lists — all without leaving the feed. AI Summary feature in Discover feed As per the report, the new Discover cards display a cluster of small, overlapping icons, each representing a source used to generate the AI summary. Tapping on the icon group opens a 'More' page listing all articles used in the summary. Visually, the card retains the main image from the first article, with the headline prominently displayed. The source name has been minimized in size, shifting attention to the AI-generated summary to help users quickly grasp the essence of the story. Bookmark feature In addition to summaries, Google is also testing an improved bookmarking feature. A new 'Save' icon is placed directly on the Discover card between the heart and overflow menu, which will allow users to bookmark articles with simple taps. Bookmarked content appears in the Activity tab of the Google app. What is Google AI Overview AI Overviews in Google Search uses generative AI to give quick summaries of topics by pulling info from multiple websites. Unlike Google's featured snippets, they appear at the top of search results and include helpful links. They also include links so users can click and read more. This helps people get quick answers without needing to do many searches. ALSO READ:
Business Insider
15-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Reddit is the 2nd most-cited source in Google AI Overviews, but that might not mean much for its bottom line
Reddit's relationship with Google is complicated. The social media forum, which went public last year and is under pressure like never before to attract advertisers and turn a profit, has recently enjoyed priority status on Google Search. And now that Google has launched its AI Overview, a natural language synopsis of search results at the top of the page, it seems its preference for citing Reddit remains. Analytics firm Semrush shared data this month on how AI-powered search is affecting traffic. It found that Reddit is the second most-cited website in Google AI Overviews, following Quora. "Quora and Reddit users often ask and answer niche questions that aren't addressed elsewhere. Making them rich information sources for highly specific AI prompts," the study's authors wrote. "Reddit may also perform well because Google has a partnership with Reddit and uses Reddit data to train its systems." Reddit and Google entered a partnership, worth a reported $60 million, in 2024 that allowed Google to train its AI models on Reddit's content. Google said the deal would "facilitate more content-forward displays of Reddit information." All of this has helped Reddit increase its traffic over the last year, which might entice more advertisers. That traffic, however, is largely coming from so-called logged-out users, meaning they aren't account holders at Reddit and are unlikely regular visitors. Analysts at Redburn called much of Reddit's growth"misconstrued." "Accelerated user growth has been driven predominantly by logged-out users who arrive on the platform largely via Google Search," the Redburn analysts wrote in March. "These users are much less valuable to Reddit as they are typically just looking for an answer to a query and thus spend little time on the platform." And while Google AI Overview might often cite Reddit as a source, the way it displays search results in a natural language summary means many searchers will be less likely to click through to Reddit itself. Reddit's stocks fell in May after Google launched its new AI Mode, as concerned analysts said the new feature would likely decrease traffic to Reddit.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Educational tech company Chegg sues Google over AI Overviews
Educational tech company Chegg has sued Google in federal court claiming that its "AI Overviews" that appear ahead of search results have hurt its traffic and revenue. In order to be included in Google's search results, Chegg alleges, it must "supply content that Google republishes without permission in AI-generated answers that unfairly compete for the attention of users on the internet in violation of antitrust laws of the United States." Previously, publishers like The New York Times have sued AI companies over copyright infringement, accusing them of training large language models (LLMs) on IP material without permission. However, Chegg is taking another approach, instead accusing Google of abusing its monopoly position to force companies to supply materials for its "AI Overviews" on its search page. Failing to do so, it says, means it could effectively be excluded from Google Search altogether. Chegg included a screenshot of a Google AI Overview that takes details from Chegg's website without attribution, though the page in question appears lower down in the search results. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Google told CNBC that it would defend itself against the suit. "Every day, Google sends billions of clicks to sites across the web, and AI Overviews send traffic to a greater diversity of sites," a spokesperson said. Google's use of its monopoly power in this way "amounts to a form of unlawful reciprocal dealing that harms competition in violation of the Sherman Act," Chegg claimed, while citing a federal judge's ruling from last year that Google is a monopolist in search. The tech-ed company said that it is particularly affected by these practices because the "breadth, depth, quality and volume of Chegg's educational content holds enormous value for artificial intelligence applications." Chegg is the latest in a long list of companies suing Google over alleged misappropriation of IP content, though as mentioned, using the Sherman Act is a novel approach. As of January 2025, 38 copyright lawsuits related to AI have been filed in the US, according to a site keeping track of the claims — so far with mixed results.
