Google Discover Tests AI-Generated Summaries, Raising Concerns for Publishers

Google Discover adds AI summaries, threatening publishers with further traffic declines | TechCrunch

As publishers fret about decreased traffic from Google, the search giant has begun rolling out AI summaries in Discover, the main news feed inside Google's search app on iOS and Android. Now, instead of seeing a headline from a major publication, users will see multiple news publishers' logos in the top-left corner, followed by an AI-generated summary that cites those sources. The app warns that these summaries are generated with AI, "which can make mistakes." The feature is not yet appearing for all news stories within the Google app, indicating this change is likely still a test. (Google has been asked for comment about the extent of the rollout, but has not responded.) In tests, TechCrunch was able to view the AI summaries firsthand across both iOS and Android apps in the U.S. In addition to the summaries, Google has been trying out other ways to present the news displayed in Discover. Though not flagged as powered by AI, some stories will include a set of bullet points below the headline or will be grouped with similar news. For instance, a story about President Trump's Ukraine deal also included links to other stories about Trump's latest actions. Meanwhile, a story from The Washington Post about ICE was followed by bullet points that summarized the story's content. The update to the search app comes as a number of publishers have been experimenting with AI on their own sites, including The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo, Bloomberg, USA Today, and others. Startups, too, have gotten in on the action, as with Particle, a news reader that uses AI to not only summarize stories but also allow users to see different sides or ask follow-up questions to better understand the topic covered. Despite these trials, there's significant concern in the publishing industry about how the shift to AI is impacting website traffic and referrals. With features like Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, users no longer have to visit a website directly to get answers to their search queries -- it can be summarized for them automatically or shared in a chatbot-style interface. Outside of Google, this same trend is seen across other AI apps, like ChatGPT or Perplexity. Recently, Google tried to appease publishers with the launch of Offerwall, a feature that allows publishers to generate revenue beyond the more traffic-dependent options, like ads. With Offerwall, publishers who use Google Ad Manager can try out different methods to provide access to their content, like micropayments or having users take surveys, sign up for newsletters, watch ads, and more. But for many publishers, these tools are coming too late, as traffic is already in a steep decline. A story by The Economist this week noted that worldwide search traffic fell by 15% year-over-year as of June, citing data from market intelligence company Similarweb. Earlier data from the firm also found that the number of news searches on the web that result in no click-throughs to news websites had grown from 56% in May 2024, when AI Overviews launched, to nearly 69% as of May 2025. Organic traffic also declined, dropping from over 2.3 billion visits at its peak in mid-2024 to fewer than 1.7 billion, it noted. Amid this shift, Google Discover still remained a source for clicks, even as traffic from Google Search declined. But that may no longer be the case if the AI summaries roll out more broadly within the Google app.

Google Discover Experiments With Story Summaries Using Its AI

Another day, another AI change from Google. Now, Google Discover is the latest service to get AI features with the company testing story summaries that look similar to how AI Overviews now appear at the top of search results. Spotted by 9to5Google, the new feature is in testing for select users as PCMag was unable to replicate the functionality. AndellDam on X also found similar testing back in June, so this has been in the works for a while. The AI-generated overviews within Discover appear in the feed alongside normal editorial highlights. The main test replaces the publication's logo and name from the top left of the Discover card, and instead includes the icons of multiple sources. It uses the word "Trending" to distinguish these overviews from articles. These summaries are pulling together information from multiple publications and online resources. It's then followed by three lines of AI-generated text using information from those sources. There's also a "See more" button to show an extra three lines of text. The main editorial source is then included as the main link for you to click through to learn more. In an example found by 9to5Google, the AI summary used a blog post from the NASA website as its main source. That's where the main image and headline were taken from in this example, too. You can open up all of the sources included if you press on the "More" button within the card. There's also a disclaimer that says, "Generated with AI, which can make mistakes," but this doesn't show until you've pressed "See more." Google has previously tried to summarize topics with multiple sources, but this is the first time it has implemented AI to do it. The previous feature grouped together three articles on the same topic into boxes called "Headlines." The idea was to give you access to three competing sources, which is especially helpful to give you alternative opinions around political content. The test outlined above isn't Google's only experiment with AI in Discover. AndellDam also found a version in testing that gave an AI summary of a single article, rather than grouping together multiple sources. To do this, Google has moved the publication name to the bottom of the card and made the headline much smaller. These tests appear on both the Android and iOS versions of Discover. There's no sign of the feature coming to desktop, which is a relatively new addition to Chrome. Elsewhere in Google Discover, there's also an experiment for a new Save icon to help you keep track of sources to return to later. There's now a small bookmark icon in these tests sitting between the overflow menu and the heart. Everything you've saved through this tool will then be available within the Activity section.

Google Discover is trying out AI to give you the gist of articles

Google has been steadily weaving generative AI into its core products, especially Search. Sure, the AI Overviews had a rocky start in the US, but they've since gone global, rolling out to over 100 countries by the end of last year. Meanwhile, AI Mode, which started out with limited access, got a wider release in June through Google Labs. Now, it looks like Google is bringing these AI-powered summaries to other places too, like the Discover feed. Related This new Google Discover format could destroy clickbait An easy solution Posts As spotted by 9to5Google, the Discover feed is getting a bit of a facelift. Instead of just showing one outlet's logo and name, you'll now see a stack of overlapping icons in the top-left corner of some cards, with each one representing a different source used to create the summary. Tap on them, and a "More" panel pops up, giving you a full list of the articles that fed into it. This move seems to have kicked off back in early June. That's when DiscoverSnoop, an analytics platform, spotted Google running tests with AI-generated summaries in the Discover feed, but only for video content at first. In those early tests, certain videos came with a short AI-written blurb sitting right above the thumbnail. Users got a quick peek with three lines, and if they were curious, they could hit "More" to see the rest, which ran about 10 lines long. It looks like this is still the case in the latest version being tested. 9to5Google noticed that users now see a three-line snippet before needing to tap "See more" to get the full summary. At the bottom, there's a small but important reminder: "Generated with AI, which can make mistakes." The preview image comes from the first story in the bunch, with its headline right underneath. Close Pulling from Google's experimental AI Overviews system These AI-generated summaries look like they're tapping into Google's experimental AI Overviews system -- the same one that's had a bit of a bumpy ride in Search lately. Whether this ends up being genuinely helpful or just adds another step between you and the real article really comes down to how sharp Google keeps the summaries. These AI summaries have popped up on both Android and iOS, and they come with an upgraded bookmarking setup. According to 9to5Google, Discover is testing a built-in "Save" icon right on the card, sitting between the heart and the three-dot menu. It's a small tweak, but it cuts out an extra tap. Anything you save ends up in the Activity tab, making it easier to find stuff later without digging around. Related AI Mode is getting a front row seat on the Google app There's finally a new home for AI Mode Posts

Google Discover testing AI story summaries

Google is testing AI-generated summaries in the Discover feed on Android and iOS, as well as easier bookmarking. Instead of a single publication logo and name in the top-left corner of the card, Discover shows several overlapping icons to represent how many stories were used to generate the summary. Tapping opens a "More" sheet with all those articles. You get three lines of text before you have to tap "See more." The very last thing notes how it was "Generated with AI, which can make mistakes." This experience, especially the highlighting of key information, feels very similar to AI Overviews in Google Search results. The cover image is from the first story, with its headline appearing underneath. The publication name is even smaller than the title alongside the time/date. From a browsing experience, this gives you more information and context before having to tap into an article. However, that extra information might have the adverse effect of users not clicking on the article. As of this test, Google Discover's AI summaries appear alongside the existing solo article format. Meanwhile, Discover is also testing adding the "Save" icon directly to the card. Appearing in between the heart and overflow menu, this saves you a tap, with your bookmarks appearing in the Activity tab. AI summaries and the elevated save icon are still being tested and not widely available. We're seeing it on both Android and iOS (Google app).