Tag: google

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.

Google continues to make changes to Google Search. After introducing AI mode and some other AI features recently, it is now reportedly testing removing the trusted Search-button for another round of AI infusions.

The report comes from Search Engine Watch noting that some users are now seeing the new AI first search page now instead. While the search field remains for now, Google has removed the search button for three AI-powered features: Create images, ask about files and brainstorm. The “I am feeling lucky” button remains for now though.

While that is not a big problem for users who know that you can simply press the Enter-key to start a search, it may confuse some Google users nevertheless. They may activate the AI mode button, which opens an interface to interact with Google’s AI Gemini.

Pressing the three other buttons starts other activities, but not the classic search. According to Search Engine Watch, two of the three AI features work without a Google account, at least for now. Those are “ask about files” and brainstorm. Only create image remains locked for Google account customers.

So, is this a problem? Probably for some users who used the button all the time to start their searches and do not know about pressing the Enter-key.

The test shows that Google continues to focus on pushing AI options to Google Search and some of its other products, such as Google Maps or Gmail. I’m not a huge fan of this. Not because I have something against AI, but because it is causing problems for the remaining independent site owners and blog writers out there.

Ever since Google’s Panda update, things have been going downhill for many. Now with Google keeping more and more visitors to its search engine on its own site, thanks to AI delivering the answer right on site, even larger publishers have faced declines in traffic.

Google announced a new option to sign-in to a Google account this week. Called “Selfie Video”, it is specifically designed for signing-in when you are locked out or use a device that is not your “usual phone or computer”.

However, for this to work, it is necessary to set up Selfie Video prior to making use of it, Google notes.

Note: I got the “Selfie isn’t available as a sign-in option for this account” error when trying to set this up for tests. Not sure whether the feature is region-locked, as Google does not make any mentions of limitations.

Google describes the new feature in the following way:

Setting up a selfie video is simple: You just look at your device’s camera and complete a few short, guided head movements to capture multiple angles.

If you’re having trouble signing in later on, you just take another selfie to get back into your account. Selfie video compares the new video to the one you set up to confirm it is really you and help you get back into your account.

What about privacy and security? Google says the selfie video “is recorded and securely stored with your consent” and only used for sign in help, unless you decide to “share it for additional purposes”. The video is encrypted at rest according to Google, and there are “multiple layers of security to help prevent impersonation attempts”.

Here is my take: while this may look like yet another feature to get more data from its users, it is actually not the worst of ideas in some cases. First, it is optional, which means that you don’t have to use it and the majority of Google users probably won’t.

The main advantage is that this is independent of devices or security keys. If you don’t have access to your smartphone or computer anymore, you may lose access to your accounts or have troubles authorizing yourself. This selfie option could provide a way out in emergency situations. That is, provided that it works as advertised.

For users heavily invested — and thus trusting — in Google’s ecosystem, it could be an option for disaster recovery.

What about you? Would you use such a feature? Let me know in the comments below.

Ah Google Search, everyone’s favorite search engine that started out as an excellent source for Internet resources using links and is openly being turned into a service that eats everything that is in its way, even the very sites that fuel it.

A new report, cited by the Wall Street Journal, suggests that major US publishers have noticed sharp drops in organic Google Search traffic between June 2025 and June 2026.

According to the report, sites noticed decreases of organic traffic by up to 85 percent and the main reason for that appears to be AI Overviews. When Google Search displays an AI generated overview on a search results page, traffic to sites drops by about 60 percent according to the study. This leaves Discover traffic as the remaining traffic source from Google, but this comes with its own set of caveats, including a tendency for clickbait.

Major US publishers and sites, including Reddit, Politico and Business Insider, may turn to drastic measures to put an end to Google’s strategy of becoming the one and only destination on the Internet that users need.

Reddit, the Wall Street Journal reports, is considering dropping a potential renewal of its $60 million per year deal with Google. This would disallow Google from using the content published on Reddit for AI training and also prevent the company from showing Reddit content in its AI overviews.

Apart from losing the money, Reddit might also notice another drop in referrals from Google as a consequence, as it would likely no longer be listed by the AI Overviews feature.

My personal take: Google’s decisions have led to a decline in Internet blogs, at least in the tech sector. Independent owners of sites like Freeware Genius stopped publishing or pulled their sites entirely from the Internet because of Google. Now, the beneficiaries of Google’s algorithmic changes are facing a similar situation. Google is keeping the users that it used to send to these sites and now it is their business model that is in jeopardy.

Here is the outcome: Some will survive, as they may provide value that Google can’t replicate. Some will merge, others will vanish. Even big publications or sites may go down. Google might eventually notice that AI can’t generate fresh information on its own though.