Search is changing very quickly. The traditional approach of throwing 100 links at you will slowly be a thing of the past or will live side by side with something like Google’s AI Overviews, which was first introduced in the US and is now being rolled out in six new countries, including India.

The new way of search can take much of the hard work out of searching, so you can focus on the parts you want to do to get things done. Instead of making you go through 10 websites to find a solution, why not give you an “overview”? Sounds good? It is and… not.

The happy pitch

Google’s pitch — this is the bigger picture here — amounts to deeper integration. Google has got everything — search, streaming, smartphones and a lot more. Generative AI is becoming the thread that ties the different verticals. The recent Google event was less about smartphones and more about presenting AI features.

The threat of a breakup may have created an atmosphere of uncertainty for investors but the approach to pulling down wall gardens is also creating friction among users.

As someone who constantly uses all kinds of products but has Google as a search engine almost everywhere, AI Overviews will be an interesting offering.

The big question is what is the purpose of AI Overviews to the average user? It serves as a single way to save time by offering a more efficient search experience. The main selling point is to make search around complex topics appear easy to understand. There will also be more relevant recommendations, be it planning ideas or product suggestions. What immediately comes to mind is how big an opportunity it is to add Gemini to the largest search engine on earth. Giving quick answers it could potentially increase user engagement.

A deep dive

But the big reason why it is being talked about so much is how it may permanently change search as we know it. The implementation of AI-curated results may lead to less website traffic and may result in a loss of ad revenues. We don’t know and Google is not offering a straight answer. If you are a small digital resource, it is possible you may never appear as a source of information. The algorithm could be inclined to promote established websites.

Also, since it is an AI algorithm there is potential for promoting inaccurate information or hallucinating results.

At a technical level, the feature should work seamlessly as the feature is integrated into the existing search framework. You can start by entering your query in the search box and Google will check if the question is even worth of the Overviews treatment. Overviews appear only when a system determines that generative responses can be especially helpful. For example, when you want to quickly understand information from a range of sources, including information across the web and Google’s Knowledge Graph. So how-to questions are Overviews territory. Or when it comes to things like “what is the best streaming service”.

Can you use it?

The rollout will obviously happen in stages. First, upgrade your browser. What will be the long-term effect/benefit? It’s too early to say anything. But AI Overviews should be available to many hundred million devices by the end of the year.

In India, Google is rolling out AI Overviews in English and Hindi and is also introducing popular India-first features that were well-received during the company’s Search Labs experiment: helping you easily switch between English and Hindi results with the language toggle button, and listen to responses with Text-To-Speech by tapping the ‘Listen’ button.