Google is now providing AI-written summaries for some news articles in its search results in the US and UK. Research indicates these AI Overviews are impacting publisher visibility, pushing original articles down the search rankings. This shift could necessitate significant changes in SEO strategies for maintaining traffic.

Billions of Google users will soon see AI-generated summaries at the top of many of their search results. The AI Overviews are designed to take out the hard work of searching so users can focus on the important things. Google announced several other AI-powered features at its I/O developer conference, such as a feature in Lens that lets users search by capturing a video, a planning tool that can generate trip itineraries and meal plans with a single query, and suggestions within search results. While similar products have come under scrutiny for summarizing content and not directing users to the actual sources of information, Google says that early data shows that the new way of searching will actually lead to more clicks to the open web.

Google's AI Overviews are an attempt to take unstructured data gathered from web content and give a structured answer to a search query, just like answer boxes. Its impact on SEO results will vary widely across industries and categories. For informational content and top-of-funnel keywords, the clickthrough rate will likely decline by over 50%. However, there could be very little traffic loss on topics with deep content or products/service pages that can't easily be summarized.

Google is expanding its AI Overviews in Search by providing more detailed information directly in search results. This potentially reduces the need for users to visit websites. To address this, Google is testing new link displays within these overviews. This update could encourage users who do click through to spend more time on the sites they visit.

Google announced plans to test search and shopping ads in the AI summaries. Ads will appear within the AI Overview in a section labeled as ‘sponsored' when they're relevant to both the query and the information in the AI Overview. AI Overview will draw on ads from advertisers' existing campaigns. This means they can neither completely opt out of the experiment nor have to adapt the settings and designs of their ads to appear in the feature.

Google is incorporating AI into its search engine with features like "AI Overviews" and a new planning tool. It aims to deliver summarized answers, automatic categorization, and personalized results using its Gemini AI to understand queries, generate summaries, and design result pages. For users, this could mean a completely new way to interact with the internet: less typing, fewer tabs, and more chatting with a search engine.

Google introduced AI Overviews to enhance search results, providing users with more accurate and relevant information, especially for complex queries. While some issues arose, such as erroneous results and misinterpreted content, Google has implemented over a dozen technical improvements to address these challenges, including better detection of nonsensical queries and limiting user-generated content in AI Overviews.

Google is piloting AI-generated overviews in search results for complex queries with a subset of U.S. users without requiring opt-in to its Search Generative Experience. This feedback-driven test aims to enhance user experience and may impact site traffic dynamics due to changes in ad placements and organic search visibility.

This post covers 9 of the latest updates in the SEO industry. Google is paying publishers 5-figure sums to test an unreleased Gen AI platform in a deal that requires them to publish 3 stories per day. Notable volatility in SERPs was detected at the end of February, with other data showing that Reddit's visibility in the SERPs was starting to fall. The Internet Archive website appears to have been penalized by Google as it dropped from 8M monthly organic visits to 1M.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai discusses the integration of AI into Google products and its potential impact on the web. Google's new AI-powered search feature, AI Overviews, provides users with more context-rich search results. There are concerns from content creators about traffic loss, but Google is trying to balance user satisfaction with the needs of content creators.

The rise of AI Overviews and rich snippets in search results is reducing CTRs to traditional websites. Search engines are increasingly delivering concise, relevant information directly in SERPs, often synthesizing content from multiple sources. This shift favors content that is easily understood by both AI algorithms and human users, changing the dynamics of visibility and engagement in search results.

Google's AI Overviews (AIO) feature now appears in only 8.71% of SERPs for 100K keywords, a significant decrease from 64% pre-rollout, with most AIOs linking to top 10 organic results. The length of AIO content and number of links have both increased post-rollout, indicating Google's emphasis on detailed answers and authoritative sources. SEO strategies must adapt to remain relevant in this evolving search landscape, where user queries with more words, lower search volumes, and lower CPC are more likely to trigger AI-generated responses.

The tool Google uses to sift through web content to come up with AI answers is the same one that keeps track of web pages for search results. Sites that block Google's AI bot may not show up in search. Publishers either have to choose to offer up their content for use by AI models, which could make their sites obsolete, or disappear from Google search, a top source of traffic. Google has signaled to publishers it is not interested in negotiating data-sharing deals and media companies have little leverage in the situation.

Google's AI Overviews, powered by the Gemini language model, faced heavy criticism for inaccuracies and dangerous suggestions after its U.S. launch. Despite the backlash, Google expanded the feature to six more countries, raising concerns among publishers about reduced traffic and misrepresented content. AI strategists and SEO experts emphasize the need for transparency and better citation practices to maintain trust and traffic.

Google's AI Overviews are now visible in fewer than 7% of queries, particularly dropping in education, entertainment, and e-commerce sectors. The presence of AI-generated content has been reduced due to issues with incorrect and hazardous answers, with Google focusing on enhancing accuracy and reducing reliance on user-generated content from sites like Reddit and Quora.

AI-generated content is becoming a big problem in Google Search results. About 10% of Google results now consist of AI content, posing challenges for Google's algorithms. There are concerns that this may lead to a collapse in model quality as AIs feed on each other's output.

Google recently launched AI Overviews, an AI-powered search feature designed to help users with complex queries. Odd and erroneous overviews were reported on social media, some of which were faked. Google explained that AI Overviews, unlike chatbots, are integrated with the company's core web ranking systems and prioritize accuracy by linking to reputable sources. The odd results stemmed from misinterpretations of nonsensical queries, satirical content, and user-generated content, as well as data voids. Google has now made improvements to detect these issues.

Google’s latest core update targets sites that are mass-producing low-quality content. Marketers can still utilize AI responsibly for tasks such as drafting content and FAQS. It’s unclear if Google can actually detect AI-generated content. However, it can identify content that summarizes existing content and websites creating content at an unreasonable scale. The core update also gives paid search ads a boost.

Google has scaled back AI Overviews. The AI-generated answers are now appearing in around 11 percent of queries, down from around 27 percent when the feature was launched last month. The company is still in the process of refining the feature. AI Overviews are appearing most in health-focused searches, despite the company highlighting the tool's use for shopping, restaurant recommendations, and travel in its marketing.

Google is rolling out its AI Overviews search to U.S.-based users of Google Search. AI Overviews gives answers to queries using generative AI technology powered by Google Gemini. It provides a few snippets of an answer based on its understanding of queries and the content it found on the topic across the web.

Microsoft's new Bing search experience integrates AI-generated answers prominently, relegating traditional results to the side. The redesigned interface for select queries includes AI-generated summaries, additional details like genre history, and links to videos and influential movies, all sourced beneath each section. Google's similar feature, AI Overviews, faced issues with inaccuracy, while Bing's layout aims to provide dynamic, concise search results.

Semrush's newly-released Google AI Overview (AIO) reporting, designed to make AIO tracking far more accessible, is the first of its kind. Google Search Console offers valuable first-party AIO reporting, but it lacks filtering, which limits how much can be analyzed. An initial analysis of AIOs within the Semrush tool found that AIO placements are unlikely without a top 10 ranking (similar to Featured Snippets). Additionally, only 0.1% of Wikipedia's ranked keywords include an AIO, compared to 0.23% for Reddit.

Google will soon start testing search and shopping ads within AI Overviews for users in the US. The company says it will display ads in AI Overviews when they're relevant to both the query and the information in the AI Overview. Advertisers already running certain campaigns through Google will automatically become eligible to appear in AI Overviews. It is unclear when exactly the change will roll out.

Google has transformed from a comprehensive search engine into something more akin to an exclusive catalog. Initially, Google indexed almost any web content, but now, facing a future where AI can generate infinite human-like content, it has become highly selective. This selectivity favors bigger brands, which often see their content indexed quickly, while small bloggers or niche websites face a higher bar for inclusion.

The evolution of Google’s search features, specifically the introduction of “From sources across the web,” has raised concerns about search result fairness and accuracy. By prioritizing list-based content from big enterprises and neglecting original ideas from independent publishers, Google’s practices contradict its own content guidelines and exacerbate competition issues. Its practices diminish the visibility of original publishers and rely heavily on paid placements, perpetuating a cycle of unoriginality and commercialization in search results.

This article contains an interview with Google CEO Sundar Pichai conducted the day after the Google I/O developer conference last week. Google is building AI into virtually all of its products. The company is currently rolling out AI Overviews in Search, a move that will change the internet ecosystem as we know it. Pichai says that injecting AI into Search is about creating value for users and that users are clicking on links at higher rates in the AI previews. There is a deep tension between Google's vision for the future and the very real fears and anxieties creators and website owners are feeling about how search has changed and how AI might change the internet forever.

Emerging AI-driven search tools challenge Google by offering direct and explorative answers, but struggle to match its speed, diverse functionalities, and efficient data presentation, underscoring the complexity of replacing traditional search with AI.

Microsoft has introduced Bing generative search, which delivers AI-composed responses as primary results while citing source links and related content. The feature is in preview and limited to a few user queries. A broader rollout will depend on feedback and performance. The move follows Google's addition of AI Overviews and signals intensifying competition in AI-enhanced search tools.

Google's new tools in Google Merchant Center include product trend insights that highlight popular search and purchase trends. Enhanced AI features now offer summaries of product performance, and conversational queries allow for easier access to tailored data reports. Additionally, Google has improved product availability notes with an automated onboarding process and introduced new customer acquisition goals in Performance Max and Search campaigns.

This Chrome browser extension removes AI-generated overviews from Google search results. It offers a clean, streamlined interface that focuses solely on traditional results. This was built in direct response to Google's recent rollout of AI Overviews.