What does Google's search engine change mean for journalism?

Google has announced a series of new “tests” and changes that will soon be applied to the tech giant's number one global search engine in the near future.

What does google adding ai to search mean for journalism? — The interface of a search result in the test version supplemented with Google's AI. Photo: Google

“Innovative search experience”

If these changes are widely implemented, they would be the most significant reform of search engines and the Internet in decades. The change could significantly reduce traffic from Google to newspaper websites, which could cause some damage to online advertising revenue for news publishers.

Google will place AI-generated answers right at the top of some search pages. When Google’s “Search Generative Experience” (SGE) answers a question, the AI will cite some of its sources with prominent links on the left side. By clicking the icon in the right corner, we can clearly see all the sources that the AI used to come up with the answer.

This new way of searching may save users time from having to scroll through a series of websites to find useful information. However, it will also make it easier for users to be satisfied with the answers that Google's AI technology provides and not have the need to dig deeper.

Quick Shopping

AI-generated content will also be heavily integrated into shopping results. If you ask Google a question like “best speakers under $100 for a party” or “good mountain bike,” Google will return a list of shopping links, rather than articles from media sites. Which means, by any measure, this isn’t going to be great for news organizations.

Google cautions that SGE is still experimental and not yet widely available. And it's also worth noting that Google won't use AI to answer all questions.

Not all searches are answered by AI. AI only appears when Google’s algorithm deems it more useful than the standard results. Sensitive topics like health and finance are currently off limits to using AI to provide advice or answers.

Add “Viewpoint” for users

Google is also expanding the use of a search filter called “Perspectives” to include user-generated content, such as Reddit posts, YouTube videos, and blog posts, in search results.

This shift is partly due to Americans increasingly seeking news and information from individuals rather than organizations. TikTok and Instagram are also emerging platforms for this new way of delivering news.

“In the coming weeks, users can expect to see the Perspectives filter appear at the top of search results. When users tap the filter, they’ll see videos, images, and posts that people have shared on discussion forums, personal blogs like Reddit, and on social media,” Google said.

“We will also show additional details about the person who created this content, such as the user’s name, profile photo, or information about previous posts,” the statement added.

“Useful information can often appear in hard-to-find places, like forum comments, lesser-known blog posts, or articles with unique expertise on a topic,” Google added.

So according to Google, “our system for ranking useful content will soon surface more of these ‘hidden gems’ in search, especially when we think they will improve the user experience.”

“We found that our users, especially some of our younger users, often want to hear from other people,” Liz Reid, Google’s vice president of search, told The Verge. “They don’t just want to hear from big organizations or big brands. And that’s the inspiration behind our new ‘Point of View’ tool.”

Hoang Ton (according to Google, NL)

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