Google last year rolled out Search Generative Experience, which showed a summary answering your inquiry. The feature is powered by Google’s generative AI technology and was only available to users who have opted in.
Now, as per a report, the company has started adding the experience to a subset of queries on a small percentage of traffic even if the users haven’t opted for it.
As per a report by Search Generative Experience, “Google is now testing AI overviews in the main Google Search results, even if you have not opted into the Google Search Generative Experience labs feature”. The feature is currently being tested on users in the US only. We don’t know whether it will be tested on users from other countries as well.
At its I/O developer conference last year, Google introduced the Search Generative Experience. The feature arrived shortly after the company opened access to its generative AI chatbot, Bard (now called Gemini). The feature is currently available in 120 countries and supports languages other than English. The feature still remains opt-in.
According to Search Engine Land, Google will now display the experience even if you haven't opted in when you search for complex queries or if it believes you could benefit from receiving information from multiple websites. For example, if you search for "How do I remove marks from painted walls," Google may show you the experience without requiring your explicit consent.
Google has stated that it will only display AI overviews in search results if it is confident that they will provide better information than regular search results. The company is conducting these tests to gather feedback from a wider audience, specifically from those who have not chosen to activate the feature. This will help them better understand how generative AI can benefit those who are not tech-savvy or are not interested in generative AI.
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