I realize these powerful web headlines pose a high risk, but things are moving even faster and artificial intelligence is stepping on the gas. We are in a very exciting time and will see where the journey goes in the coming months.
While last week I was talking about how the biggest threat posed by artificial intelligence is the lack of visibility from brands and professionals (a problem we’ve been grappling with for a long time), today in The Verge I read the announcement about the changes that Google is testing in its search engine (with 92% share) by introducing artificial intelligence. It’s about the Search Generative Experience (SGE)
what is the Search Generative Experience (SGE)?
It’s the change that, thanks to generative artificial intelligence, would mean a giant step towards transforming the search engine with the highest market share in the world.
The Google search engine would go from recommending the best search results to trying to give you direct answers to your questions.
Google would give us a specific recommendation prior to our search where it would give us the answer and a bunch of additional information based on our exploration.
How does it work Search Generative Experience (SGE)?
There is nothing better to explain than one of the examples they used in their presentation (here is the link to the full video).
before the search”Bluetooth speaker for a pool party‘, the search engine returns this page of results:
- It offers recommendations to consider when purchasing a speaker.
- There are 3 buying guides on the right.
- Above these guides is a “bubble” menu that displays the links from which you took the information.
- Below it shows us different models from different stores.
- Below all of this would be the results that we could now find with this search.
It is important to note two things:
- Generative search results are still in the experimental phase.
- Artificial intelligence would not be present on all searches, it will only do so if it is convinced that it adds value to the result offered.
- And thirdly, if Google showed it in a presentation, then it’s like this change is coming. It is not clear when and with what nuances.
What are the consequences of Google’s switch to introducing generative artificial intelligence in search?
I think this question will take a while and multiple articles on this blog to answer, but here are my first impressions:
- Quality and precision of the information offered: I understand that Google will start offering results where it is more confident.
- How do they answer complex questions that require more data to adequately answer? (e.g. required budget, uses, level of knowledge, etc.).
- user response: If you use the search engine with some critical thinking, this shouldn’t be a problem since you know how to differentiate between good and bad results (as we have done so far). But I worry about what might happen to the people who tiptoe to believe what appears.
- Visibility (or lack thereof) to other brands and professionals: What are the consequences of this change if the visibility and traffic we get from organic traffic has been declining for several years?
- We will certainly change our habits and start doing more scrollWe will develop our critical capacity (I hope) and we will see changes in the role of the rest of the digital actors (social networks, messaging, etc.) in the information search process.
- The need to bet on a branding strategy with a more human approach and closer to the audience will multiply.
- This is how advertising works on Google: This may not have escaped your notice, but how will it change the way you advertise and how Google engages with it through your search engine? If you then provide the best recommendations, how can you charge brands without “falsifying” the results generated by the AI?
I’ll keep researching and sharing my impressions with you, but I encourage you to start learning now and start thinking about how you can benefit from artificial intelligence instead of waiting for it to arrive. How can I apply it in my work and what impact will it have on my business? These are questions we must ask ourselves now.
The image that accompanies the article is a screenshot of the Google event in May 2023.
