When you use Google Search currently, there is a good chance that you get an AI overview at the top of the search results page. It lists some text and a “show more” button to expand the full AI generated content. The organic results are shown below the fold already, which has led to a organic traffic decline for many sites. For Google, it is an opportunity to keep searchers on its own website, which increases revenue.
Google is now testing a change on its search results pages that has the potential to be even more damaging to websites around the world, reports Seroundtatble. The change expands the display of the AI reply on the results page. Users do not have to click on the “show more” button anymore to display the entire reply, as it is displayed automatically.
According to several Google employees, the automatic expansion is only happening “for topics where our systems determine it to be most useful”. Users who started to scroll already will notice that the expansion of AI content has stopped, according to the company.
This in turn means that the organic results are pushed down even further on the search results page, which may lead to even less traffic.
Google confirmed the test but it is unclear at this point whether it is going to make it the standard going forward. If I had to guess, I’d put a large sum on Google making it the new default for certain searches at the beginning before it gets expanded further.
It is clear that Google is pushing AI on Search and other company products. It has made and is making large investments in AI infrastructure and these are not paying for themselves.
For publishers, being listed in Google Search is becoming less and less of an attractive option to attract users and increase revenue at the same time.
Some have begun to block AI from indexing their websites, but unless other content discovery services are taking over, many may see a decline in the coming years or vanish entirely from the Internet.
Just as a reminder, I’m on vacation until September 24. No posts in that time here on this site.
Enjoy your vacation.
I hope you have a good time.
Bad facts: AI within search engines.
Bad news: Google Search testing another AI push
Good news: Some publishers have begun to block AI from indexing their websites.
Sad reality: organic traffic decline for many sites, either because of AI integration in search engines when applicable, either because publishers block their websites from being indexed.
Personal approach: avoid search engines which insert AI results in my queries. Extra tip: avoid Google in particular, GAFAM in general and opt for alternatives, especially when it comes to search engines. Google search is increasing its ad revenue on the user’s back AND on websites’ back.
DuckDuckGo with No AI: [https://noai.duckduckgo.com/]
Dogpile: [https://www.dogpile.com/] (old, still alive)
SearchXNG: choose your instance at [https://searx.space/]
eTools: [https://www.etools.ch/]
Marginalia: [https://marginalia-search.com/]
Mojeek: [https://www.mojeek.com/]
DDG No AI is my default search engine. A simple UserScript adds a top-right overlay with query redirections to the 5 other engines above mentioned. Diversity of search engines all free of AI, spare a few minutes to choose among their results and open the websites to get a full article rather than an AI “summary”. Think by and for yourselves.
@Martin
Did you say somewhere, Japan? They’ve been having a hard time weather wise lately haven’t they?
Anyways, here’s wishing you an ‘unplugged’ relaxing time off. 🙂
On topic. I use Brave search now. It has taught me how to get the type of reply I want on demand with a simple query format.
Choice wins with me.
Japan was it?
Wishing you an “unplugged” relaxing time off. 😉
Thanks for your posts.
Enjoy your vacation