Last week Google got together to announce all the things they are developing.
Google’s revelations focused on its core product and revenue model — search and advertising. Not surprisingly, these two categories are attracting the interest of marketers around the world. But we’ll get to that in a moment.
Some of the more fun new features include an immersive view of routes in Google Maps for some cities, an AI-powered Magic Editor for photos, and an AI-powered Magic Compose tool to rewrite text in a more positive, professional, or Shakespearean way. (Google seems to equate AI and magic.)
Google shared news about Bard, its ChatGPT competitor. The waiting list is gone and the tool works in English, Japanese and Korean. In addition, it can display images in its responses, some of which may be integrated into Adobe’s Firefly AI art generator and may be modified in Adobe tools.
Now for the biggest but least noticed Google announcement.
CMI’s Chief Strategy Advisor Robert Rose shares his thoughts in this week’s CMI News video. Watch it below or read on for the highlights:
The biggest news for marketers
With all the cool new features, what matters to marketers was almost like a throwaway line: Google plans to change how search results are presented. Unsurprisingly, the look will integrate artificial intelligence.
@Google plans to change how search results are presented and integrate artificial intelligence, says @CMIContent about @Robert_Rose. Click to tweet
Robert says the intriguing development has interesting implications for marketers concerned about the future of organic search.
In Google’s demonstration at the I/O conference, someone “asks” the search engine, “Which is better for a family with children under 3 and a dog, Bryce Canyon or Arches National Park?” Google search returns a detailed answer , which outlines the pros and cons of each answer.
“Now search does the heavy lifting for you,” said Cathy Edwards, vice president of Google Search, during the conference.
But does it? Is it really?
“If you read the answer, it reads very similar to what is now beginning to evolve into a classically formatted AI generative answer,” says Robert.
This is how the result returned by the experimental Generative AI was displayed:
Both Bryce Canyon National Park and Arches National Park are family-friendly. Although both parks prohibit dogs on dirt trails, Bryce Canyon has two paved trails that allow dogs.
“Bryce Canyon has features like hoodoos, natural bridges and waterfalls. In the visitor center’s interactive exhibits, children can learn about the geology, wildlife and people of the area. You can take your dog along the paved sections of the Rim Trail and the Shared Use Path, both of which are also stroller-friendly.
“Children can enjoy the rock formations at Arches, and some say Arches offers more variety than Bryce Canyon. Pets are not allowed on any of the trails, but they are allowed on campsites, rest areas, roads and parking lots.
“Both parks offer guided tours, ranger-led programs, picnic areas and restrooms, and both parks require pets to be on a leash.
As Robert explains, “The answer is fairly logical, well constructed, contains many adjectives, and ultimately offers little value.”
Even @Google couldn’t return a valuable #AI-generated result to the search example he shared, @CMIContent says about @Robert_Rose. Click to tweet
It takes up relevant but common characteristics of both parks. It tries to distinguish between the two by saying that Bryce allows dogs on two paved paths. But a little more research would have resulted in the searcher finding out that both parks have the same policy — dogs are allowed on paved roads. Bryce has only a few paved roads that are part of some hiking trails.
Although the result attempts to make distinctions, a vague partial statement serves as the only real indication of the differences: “…some say Arches has more variety than Bryce Canyon.”
But what that means is not entirely clear and was not asked in the search query.
At the bottom of the text response, Google offers three options to explore further:
- “Ask for a follow-up.”
- “How long should you spend with kids in Bryce Canyon?”
- “How many days do you need in Arches National Park for kids?”
These closing options could easily be turned into sponsored links to keep the Google sauce train going.
2 steps to avoid deadly predictions
“I don’t want to pick on Google. Technology only shows what may “I’ll come,” says Robert. “But I want to build on the knee-jerk reaction that search traffic will go down, or that this will kill publishers.”
You can expect search engines like Google, YouTube, Bing, Amazon, and many other verticalized products to eventually evolve in the way Google showed last week.
So ask yourself, says Robert, how your brand will react now and what it will do about it in the long term. He sees at least two surefire ways to weather the future impact of AI on search results.
First, Create content that not only attracts but also retains an audience. Focus on more than just getting people into your sphere of influence — your website, email, content hub, store, etc. Plan how you’ll get people to see your content by creating a trusted, bookmarked one become source.
Second, Invest in your own media by understanding how to create content in the context of the questions asked. The expertise underlying any AI search relies heavily on access to proprietary media. A Large Language Model (LLM) is also used to learn this information.
“See your content through a searcher’s lens want to differentiate between the most important aspects of your question,” says Robert.
Understand how to create #content that answers questions from searchers who want to distinguish differences, says @Robert_Rose via @CMIContent. Click to tweet
Let’s go back to Google’s example of the two US parks. The searcher wanted to know which park is more suitable for a family with a dog. When CMI’s human (aka Robert) spent ten minutes browsing both parks’ websites, he found that they did a good job of explaining the reasons for dogs are not great to take to the parks. However, no one explained why it would be suitable for a pet.
What have you not written about yet but should?
On your websites, blogs, and resource centers, you often talk about the greatness of your company, your products, and your industry. But what’s not so great? Who do you not serve? Make it easier for searchers to spot the differences.
“You can’t know where the AI of Google and other search engines is going, but you can know that it’s evolving,” says Robert.
What do you think of the changes? Let us know in the comments.
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Cover photo by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
