In a recent interview, Google CEO Sundar Pichai addressed concerns raised by independent news websites and publishers about the introduction of the new Google AI Overviews feature. The feature was announced at the company's developer conference, Google I/O 2024, held on May 14. In a conversation with Nilay Patel of Verge last week, Pichai is said to have acknowledged the growing concern, but offered an optimistic view of the potential problem. . He reportedly stressed that the feature is resulting in improved user engagement and higher clicks compared to regular search results.
Previously available to select individuals through Search Labs, the AI Overviews feature rolled out on a larger scale in the US at Google I/O 2024. It leverages the company's Gemini Large Language Model (LLM) to satisfy search queries. providing a brief overview of the same, along with relevant links. While its introduction aims to provide information “in the blink of an eye”, independent news websites and publishers who rely on Google for web traffic have raised concerns, with some calling it a “death blow for editors,” reports Verge.
In a conversation with Verge's Nilay Patel last week, Pichai is said to have argued otherwise, claiming that the company's internal data reveals that the AI overview feature has not only led to increased engagement, but which has also led to an increase in click-through rates. . While no metrics were provided to back up the claims, Pichai emphasized that Google is trying to strike a balance between helping websites and providing useful and meaningful content to users.
Websites, on the other hand, are losing traffic not to Google's AI-powered features like SGE and AI Overviews, but to the aggregators in the middle, the Verge quoted Pichai as saying. “Ironically, there are times when we've made changes to send more traffic to the smaller sites. Some of those sites that complain a lot are the aggregators in the middle,” the CEO said.
Pichai also expressed the importance of human-created content, with user preferences and content quality being important. He suggested that an optimistic but cautious approach should be maintained when it comes to the integration of AI in content generation and creation.
