Google Swears It Isn’t Destroying The Web With Ai Search

Google says its AI hunt features aren’t tanking website postulation contempt caller reports suggesting otherwise. In a blog station published connected Wednesday, Google Search caput Liz Reid says click measurement from nan hunt motor has remained “relatively stable” erstwhile compared to nan aforesaid clip past twelvemonth — though immoderate types of websites are getting much clicks and others are getting less.

Reid’s statement that AI is really helping nan web comes conscionable weeks aft Pew Research published a report that said group are “less likely” to click connected links erstwhile Google presents them pinch an AI Overview, aliases nan AI-generated summary that appears astatine nan apical of Search. In her post, Reid says Google’s findings contradict third-party reports that are “often based connected flawed methodologies.”

Recent changes to Google Search person sent ripples passim nan integer media industry. A caller report from The Wall Street Journal elaborate really Business Insider, The Washington Post, and HuffPost person faced a diminution successful postulation successful nan aftermath of ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot that has led immoderate outlets to lay disconnected staff. On apical of that, shifts successful Google’s algorithms person resulted successful independent websites struggling to enactment successful hunt results

Changing hunt patterns person brought astir “decreased postulation to immoderate sites and accrued postulation to others,” pinch websites pinch forums, videos, podcasts, and “authentic voices” benefitting nan most, according to Reid. Users are besides much apt to sojourn sites containing in-depth reviews, original posts, aliases thoughtful analyses. “We proceed to nonstop billions of clicks to websites each time and judge that Search’s worth speech pinch nan web remains strong,” Reid says.

Reid adds that while immoderate users mightiness not click citations wrong AI Overviews, group who do click done whitethorn walk longer connected nan website to study much astir a topic. “An AI consequence mightiness supply nan laic of nan land, but group click to dive deeper and study more, and erstwhile they do, these clicks are much valuable,” Reid says.

Google rolled retired its chatbot-like search feature, AI Mode, to everyone successful nan US, raising much concerns among integer publishers. Despite these far-reaching effects, Google has moreover bigger plans to reinvent hunt down nan line, arsenic it has started testing a caller search results page curated by AI.