Google asserts AI is actually making Search better

Internet users and analysts have been expressing concerns for a while about how Google’s AI features in Search may negatively impact websites. Why would you click on any website if the AI Overview feature of Search can generate (supposedly accurate), synopses?

Google has now refuted reports that AI was having a negative effect on web traffic. Liz Reid, the VP of Search at Google, wrote a blog post entitled “AI in Search drives more queries and higher-quality clicks.” Reid says that organic click volume is “relatively constant” year-over-year, but click quality “has increased.” Google “sends slightly more quality clicks than a year earlier,” the company states.

Reid says that this data contrasts with third-party reports which inaccurately claim dramatic declines in traffic. These reports are often based on flawed methodology, isolated examples or traffic changes that took place before the rollout of AI features in Search.

A recent report from the highly regarded Pew Research Center was one such third-party study. In a report published on July 22,the institution compared the click rates of searches with and those without AI Overviews. It found that the latter had a drop of nearly 50%. The study also found users were more likely than not to end their browsing sessions after clicking on an AI Overviews link — the exact opposite of what Reid claimed.

Also, it should be noted that Google’s blog post, which is only a three-minute reading, is very short and does not contain any data to support Reid’s claims. Pew, on the other hand, provided a detailed breakdown of how they gathered their data.

Accuracy is the other important part of the equation. AI has had a problem with “hallucinations” for a long time. This is the phenomenon where the technology produces outputs which are incorrect or nonsensical. Tom’s Hardwarefor example, published a great roundup of nearly 20 strange or dangerous AI Overviews a few months ago . These ranged from the suggestion that eating your boogers would boost your immunity to the possibility of using gasoline in food recipes.

Reid’s blog post does not address these concerns, but rather focuses on its commitment to continue to expand AI tools in Search. “We believe AI will be a pivotal moment for the web. It will empower us to ask more questions, and allow creators to reach a more engaged audience,” she wrote. Sure…

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