Google Scales Back AI-Generated Search Results

Google rolls back AI in searches - Softonic

One of the tools for which Google is widely known worldwide is, without a doubt, Search. Going to Google to search for information or answers is almost a reflex action for many of us. In an effort to improve even further, the company introduced AI Overview during its 2024 Google I/O event. This is a search method that uses generative artificial intelligence to generate summaries and provide data. However, Google's bet seems to not be going through its best moment. AI Overviews became viral since its launch due to its strange responses, such as the famous recommendation to put glue on pizza, generated from a Reddit response. To solve this, Google started implementing new adjustments, such as adding better tools to detect nonsensical queries. They also chose to reduce humorous or satirical content, as it could lead to misleading responses. However, new data from BrightEdge and Search Engine Land (SEO tools) indicate that the presence of AI Overviews in searches decreased from 11% to 7% from June 1st to June 30th. These are data that Google's spokesperson disagrees with, and she has made it known to The Verge. She denounces that the results "do not reflect what we have seen [from Google]" and also criticizes the methodology used to conduct the studies, as it mixes users who use AI Overviews with others who do not. Nevertheless, it is still true that these systems can also generate inaccurate information (known as "hallucinations"), which would discourage their use. AI Overviews is a great opportunity for Google to leverage artificial intelligence and improve Search. Otherwise, users would have other options whose good performance has already been more than demonstrated, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT. Although Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, stated that the public is "responding very positively to AI Overview," there is still a long way to go.

Is your search getting better? Google has quietly cut down on AI Overview responses to search queries

After a lot of hype at Google I/O, the tech giant's AI Overviews aren't popping up in search results as much as they used to. According to a new analysis by SEO platform BrightEdge, AI Overviews appeared in less than 7% of Google search queries at the end of June, compared to 11% when the month began. While not in the higher percentiles of search results regardless, the downward trend is notable after so much was made of the AI-powered search results. AI Overviews use the Google Gemini AI models to compose a summary based on the search results of a user's query. Google was very keen on the feature at first, but the downward trend for AI Overviews actually goes back to April, even before the official announcement at Google I/O. While AI Overviews appeared in response to approximately 15% of queries at first, that number has dropped ever since. The decrease accelerated in June, with BrightEdge's data showing a drop from 11% to 7% in the span of a month. This trend has been consistent in basically every case in June, but some saw particularly steep drops. Searches about education saw AI Overviews appearing 26% of the time at the beginning of the month and just 13% by the end. Meanwhile, entertainment-related queries fell from 14% to almost nothing, while e-commerce AI Overviews responses went from 26% to 9%. This does suggest Google wants AI Overviews to come up only when a problematic answer is less likely. Even the physical space that AI Overviews occupy at the top of search results is 13% smaller on average. This reduction in pixel space signifies Google's attempt to balance the prominence of AI-generated content with traditional search results, possibly to mitigate the risks associated with AI inaccuracies. There are plenty of reasons to explain the numbers. You'd expect Google to make ongoing adjustments based on what they hear from users and note in internal tests. It's likely that the much-publicized incorrect and downright dangerous AI-generated answers had something to do with it. People will be wary of any tool that tells them to eat rocks. Online search is incredibly valuable both technically and economically. AI seemed like an obvious enhancement to the industry, but it also raised red flags about its potential negative impact on traffic to websites. For now, there are still significant bugs, no matter what the long-term impact might be. Cutting down on AI Overviews might assuage some concerns about AI harming organic website traffic for now, but Google has made it clear it wants to implement AI Overviews as much as possible, so that fight has only been tabled, not resolved. And Google isn't alone in pursuing AI summaries of search results. Microsoft Bing and other rivals are trying to fill that gap. Yet, despite the issues with AI Overviews and the pullback from Google, BrightEdge is bullish on Google's AI search leadership. "There is no doubt that Google's dominance remains strong, and what it does in AI matters to every business and marketer across the planet. BrightEdge founder and Executive Chairman Jim Yu said in a statement. "At the same time, new players are laying new foundations as we enter an AI-led multi-search universe. AI is in a constant state of progress, so the most important thing marketers can do now is leverage the precision of insights to monitor, prepare for changes, and adapt accordingly."

Google Showing Less AI Search Results For Users Now? Here's What We Can Tell

Google introduced its AI-powered search a few weeks back and the initial feedback was rather alarming for the company. But it seems Google has cut down the AI search results in the last few days, as highlighted by a firm called BrightEdge in its data, mentioned in this report here. AI search results were supposed to combine all the content available on the internet and pierce it based on the relevance for the users. Google calls it AI Overviews which is available only if you opt for the feature. The report claims the AI results dropped from 11 percent to 7 percent by the end of June this year. So, what is really happening, has Google cut down the AI Overview results to avoid the backlash? Google has been quoted denying these figures, and pointed out to The Verge that AI Overviews did not have a big reach in the first place and the data gathered only looks at the users who had opted for the feature. BrightEdge admits to these details in the report, but even then, it is hardly surprising to hear Google looking to minimise the reach of the AI results in Search. The concerns about AI Overviews was raised when a user inquired about ways to improve pizza sauce. In response, the AI Overview feature suggested adding glue to enhance the adhesion of the sauce. This recommendation, which quickly went viral, originated from a misinterpreted forum post that was intended as a joke. Consequently, Google has decided to temporarily scale back this feature after it generated bizarre summary suggestions for some queries. Even Sundar Pichai talked about the irregretable error and promised to make amends by correcting these issues in the AI version to give accurate and sane responses. These alterations are vital, especially if it wants to monetise the feature by offering ads in the search results. That's right, Google has been testing ads in AI search ads for select verticals which could expand to other sections in the near future.

Google is showing fewer AI-generated search results

Google is throwing up AI-generated search results less frequently now since the past few weeks, a study has found. The numbers collected by an SEO company called BrightEdge showed that AI Overviews fell in search by 11 percent on June 1 to 7 percent on June 30. There was also a big drop in citations from Reddit and Quora in search. The AI Overviews feature which was launched earlier in May gained notoriety after showing up strange results like recommending glue on pizza and eating rocks, after picking up jokes from Reddit and the satirical news website, The Onion. Google then made changes saying it was limiting the usage of user-generated content in AI Overviews and adding guardrails to detect illogical queries that shouldn't have AI Overviews. A Google spokesperson has responded to the study telling The Verge that the methodology used was flawed and did not reflect their own internal findings. The study did not differentiate between users who had opted for the 'AI Overviews & More' feature and those who hadn't. (For top technology news of the day, subscribe to our tech newsletter Today's Cache) Google set to bring ads in search AI Overviews They added that AI Overviews only appears for users who have chosen Google's experimental Search Labs feature and won't show up for others. Meanwhile, BrightEdge stated that they had been tracking users who had opted for AI Overviews only. Google's launch of AI Overviews was an effort to compete with AI-powered chatbots and search engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity. It appears that the Sundar Pichai-led company has no plans to halt the feature yet. The spokesperson added that AI Overviews did provide more value and they will continue to finetune them to include better results. Read Comments