At its annual I/O developer conference, Google announced plans to bring generative AI directly into Google Search.
Additionally, Google announced enhancements to Search Generative Experience (SGE) that aim to reinvent the way people discover and consume information.
Future upgrades include:
- You can adjust the summary to simplify the language or provide more details
- Multi-step inference to handle nuanced and complex queries
- Built-in planning features for tasks like meal prep and vacations
- Explore ideas and inspiration with search results pages curated by AI
- Visual search to query uploaded videos and images
Liz Reid, Head of Google Search, said in the announcement:
“Thanks to generative AI, search can now do more than you imagined. So from research to planning to brainstorming, you can ask anything you care about or need to do, and Google will take over the administrative work.”
New features in Google Search and SGE
new gemini model
The customized Gemini language model is at the heart of Google's AI-powered search transformation.
Google's announcement states:
“This is all made possible by the new Gemini model customized for Google Search. It combines Gemini's advanced features, including multi-step inference, planning, and multimodality, with a best-in-class search system. It's something.”
AI Overview stitches together information from multiple sources to generate quick answers to your queries.
Google reports that people already use AI Overview billions of times through Search Labs.
US AI Overview Search Results
Google is bringing Search Labs' AI Overview to its general search results page.
This means hundreds of millions of U.S. searchers will have access to AI Overview this week, and that number will rise to over 1 billion by the end of the year.
Searchers will soon be able to tailor the language and level of detail in AI overviews to suit their needs and understanding of the topic.
Complex questioning and planning skills
SGE's multi-step reasoning capabilities allow you to ask complex questions and get detailed answers.
For example, if you ask, “Find the best yoga or Pilates studios in Boston, see their introductory offers and walking time details from Beacon Hill,” you'll receive a comprehensive response.
In addition to answering complex questions, SGE also provides planning assistance for various aspects of life, such as meal planning and vacations.
You can request a customized meal plan by searching for something like “Create an easy-to-prepare 3-day meal plan for your group.” You will receive a customized plan with recipes from around the web.
AI-curated results and visual search
Google is introducing results pages constructed by AI. This page categorizes useful results under unique AI-generated headings, presenting a variety of perspectives and content types.
This feature will initially be available for Meals and Recipes, but will expand to include Movies, Music, Books, Hotels, Shopping, and more.
SGE allows users to ask questions using video content. This visual search feature lets you record a video instead, saving you time describing your problem or typing a query.
What does this mean for businesses?
While Google touts SGE as a way to improve search quality, the prominence of AI-generated content could have implications for businesses and publishers that rely on Google search traffic.
Because AI summaries take up a large amount of screen real estate, they can bury traditional “blue link” web results and severely limit click-through rates.
According to data from ZipTie and Search Engine Journal contributor Bart Goralewicz, SGE displays cover more than 80% of search queries across most industries.
Additionally, SGE's proprietary ranking system shows only 47% of the top 10 traditional web results as sources that power AI summary generation.
Bart Goralewicz, founder of Onely, said:
“SGE operates on a completely different level than traditional search. If you aim to be listed on Google SGE, you need to develop a clear strategy for this new environment. It's a whole new game. ”
ZipTie's Tomasz Rudzki warns:
“Google SGE is the most controversial and disturbing change in search.” Businesses that rely on organic search should closely monitor the evolution of SGE, as it changes significantly from week to week. ”
How to optimize your site for SGE
As AI search accelerates, SEO professionals and content creators face new challenges in optimizing discoverability.
Consider implementing these tactics to increase your visibility in search results.
Explicitly structure your content as questions and direct answers.
AI Overview answers queries directly, so optimizing your content in a question-and-answer format can increase the chances of your content being shown by Google's AI models.
Create a topic overview page that spans from initial research to final decision.
Google's AI search can handle complex, multi-step queries. By creating comprehensive overview content that covers the entire process from initial research to final purchasing decision, you can position those pages as a primary source of information for Google AI.
Pursue featured status on authoritative Q&A and information sites.
The study found that sites like Quora and Reddit are frequently cited in Google's AI overview. Prominently featuring authoritative, industry expert-level content on these high-profile Q&A platforms can increase your visibility within AI search results.
Make the most of technical SEO to improve crawling of the content on your pages.
Like traditional search-powered web crawlers, Google's AI models still rely on crawling a site's content. Ensuring optimal technical SEO so that crawlers can access and properly render the content on all pages is critical for your content to appear in AI Overview.
Track search volume for AI overview queries.
Identifying the queries that are currently triggering AI summaries will reveal content gaps and optimization opportunities. By tracking the search volume of these queries, you can prioritize your efforts around high-value terms and topics that Google is already powering with AI results.
For the future
As Google advances its AI-centric search vision, disruption could reshape the digital economy and information ecosystem.
Businesses need to adapt their strategies to an AI-powered search environment.
At Search Engine Journal, we'll be keeping a close eye on these trends with the goal of providing strategies to help make your content more discoverable on SGE.