Generative artificial intelligence is changing the way we search on our phones.
WHO?
Apple
Microsoft, Meta
When?[196590010]Google’s AI Overviews powered by its Gemini Language Model will change the way billions of internet users search. The first step towards an AI agent who can handle any task or question you may have is generative search.
AI Overviews provide concise answers to your questions, rather than a list. This allows you to quickly get insights without having to scroll and click through to multiple sources. Google has limited its use of answers based on user-generated content, satire or humor sites after a rough start in the US following its release in May 2024.
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Generative search is not limited to Google. Microsoft and OpenAI also released versions in 2024. AI-assisted search is now available in more places on our computers, smartphones, and other gadgets. It analyzes images, audios, and videos to provide custom answers.
Google’s global dominance in search makes it the biggest player. The company has already rolled AI Overviews out to more than one billion people around the world. The result is that searches feel more like conversations. Google and OpenAI report that people interact with generative searches differently – they ask longer questions and pose a greater number of follow-ups.
The new application of AI will have serious implications for online media and advertising. These search products summarize online news articles and stories in their responses. This has led to concerns that generative search results may not encourage people to click on the original source, thereby denying those websites potential ad revenues. Many publishers and artists have sued for the use of their content in AI models. Now, generative search is another battleground where media and Big Tech will clash.