Google introduced its AI-powered search a few weeks back and the initial feedback was rather alarming for the company. But it seems Google has cut down the AI search results in the last few days, as highlighted by a firm called BrightEdge in its data, mentioned in this report here.
AI search results were supposed to combine all the content available on the internet and pierce it based on the relevance for the users. Google calls it AI Overviews which is available only if you opt for the feature. The report claims the AI results dropped from 11 percent to 7 percent by the end of June this year.
AI Search Results Going Down? What Google Says
So, what is really happening, has Google cut down the AI Overview results to avoid the backlash? Google has been quoted denying these figures, and pointed out to The Verge that AI Overviews did not have a big reach in the first place and the data gathered only looks at the users who had opted for the feature. BrightEdge admits to these details in the report, but even then, it is hardly surprising to hear Google looking to minimise the reach of the AI results in Search.
The concerns about AI Overviews was raised when a user inquired about ways to improve pizza sauce. In response, the AI Overview feature suggested adding glue to enhance the adhesion of the sauce. This recommendation, which quickly went viral, originated from a misinterpreted forum post that was intended as a joke.
Consequently, Google has decided to temporarily scale back this feature after it generated bizarre summary suggestions for some queries. Even Sundar Pichai talked about the irregretable error and promised to make amends by correcting these issues in the AI version to give accurate and sane responses.
These alterations are vital, especially if it wants to monetise the feature by offering ads in the search results. That’s right, Google has been testing ads in AI search ads for select verticals which could expand to other sections in the near future.