AI Overviews, which are AI-generated summaries that Google provides for specific Google search queries, is a collection of AI-generated summaries that Google provides for specific Google search queries. The company says it will be able to process searches soon.
This expanded functionality is powered by the newly launched Gemini 2.0 model, which Google says should also improve search speed and quality.
Limited testing of the new AI Overview feature began this week and is expected to be broadly rolled out early next year.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post provided to TechCrunch, “Our AI Overview is now used by 1 billion people, allows us to ask entirely new types of questions, and is rapidly becoming our most popular product ever.” “It has become one of the search functions in the world.” “Over the coming year, we will be bringing AI Overview to more countries and languages.”
Google's AI Overview feature on mobile (with ads). Image credit: Google
The increased prominence of AI in Google's core search products is part of the company's efforts to keep users from moving to alternatives such as Perplexity and ChatGPT search. These so-called AI-powered search engines use AI to answer many of the questions traditionally searched, such as questions about math or programming.
Since its announcement this spring, the AI brief has been the subject of much controversy, with its questionable statements and dubious advice (like recommending adding glue to pizza) going viral. A recent report from SEO platform SE Rank found that AI Overviews cites websites that are “completely unreliable and not evidence-based,” including outdated research and paid product listings.
The main problem is that AI Overview can have difficulty identifying whether a source is factual, fiction, satire, or serious. Over the past few months, Google has changed how its AI Overview works to limit answers related to current events and health topics. But the company doesn't claim it's perfect.
Nevertheless, Google says AI Overview has led to increased search engagement, especially among people aged 18 to 24, a key demographic for the company.
Google recently took steps to monetize AI Overview by adding ads on mobile for certain “relevant” queries, but publishers say the feature is having a negative impact on traffic. was disappointed. Google said it continues to consider publishers' concerns during its AI Search Experience workshop.
AI Overovers is the subject of a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit against Google, seeking to break what a judge has determined is an illegal monopoly on search. The Department of Justice is asking Google to allow sites to opt out of AI summaries without being penalized in Google search results.