AI-powered summaries are now available to all users in the US and UK, with more countries coming “soon.” Google said that this week, “hundreds of millions of people” will have access to AI-powered summaries, and it hopes to “reach 1 billion by the end of the year . ”
In light of the potential doubts that this new response format could generate, the company clarifies that "as always, ads will continue to appear in specific spaces on the page, with clear labeling to distinguish between organic and sponsored results."
Speaking to Search Engine Land, Hema Budaraju , Senior Director of Search Generative Experience at Google, explained that these summaries will not apply to all searches, but will be reserved for answering complex questions where Google believes it can add value beyond the search results. Otherwise, Google will not show an AI overview, although it did not specify what percentage of queries it estimates it will affect.
This commitment to involving AI in complex questions is bahamas number data made clear by the example cited by Google itself: “For example, you might be looking for a new pilates or yoga centre, and you want to know which one is the most popular among people who live nearby, which is also well connected to your home and offers a discount to new members. Soon, in a single search you will be able to ask something like “find the best pilates or yoga centre in Madrid and show me the offers for new members and how long it takes to walk there from Aluche””.
In this context, Google will also begin to show an AI-organized results page to make it easier to compare options. So, instead of a list of links, you will see information grouped by AI-generated titles that will cover various perspectives and types of content, from results for stores near you, to recipes, tips and locations.
This new type of results page will initially be applied to restaurants and recipes and later to movies, songs, books, hotels and shopping, and will be available “soon” in English in the United States.