Google CEO Claims AI Overviews Boost Website Referrals
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In a recent interview on The Verge’s Decoder podcast, Google CEO Sundar Pichai asserted that the company’s AI Overviews feature is enhancing user engagement and increasing website referrals. He emphasized that AI Overviews are designed to send more traffic to a broader range of websites, reinforcing Google’s commitment to supporting the open web ecosystem.
However, this claim has sparked debate among publishers and SEO experts. While Google reports a 10% increase in user engagement with AI Overviews, independent studies suggest a more nuanced picture. For instance, research by Ryan Law and Xibeijia Guan indicates that AI Overviews may lead to a 34.5% decrease in click-through rates for informational queries, as users find answers directly within the AI-generated summaries.
Google CEO Claims AI Overviews Boost Website Referrals
Pichai explained:
“I can literally see, envision 20 different ways this could work. Consumers could pay a subscription for agents, and their agents could rev share back. So you know, so that that is the CIO use case you’re talking about. That’s possible. We can’t rule that out. I don’t think we should underestimate, people may actually see more value participating in it.
I think this is, you know, it’s tough to predict, but I do think over time like you know like if you’re removing friction and improving user experience, it’s tough to bet against those in the long run, right? And so I think, in general if you’re lowering friction for it, you know, and and people are enjoying using it, somebody’s going to want to participate in it and grow their business.
And like would brands want to be in retailers? Why don’t they sell directly today? Why don’t they sell directly today? Why won’t they do that? Because retailers provide value in the middle.
Why do merchants take credit cards? There are many parts like and you find equilibrium because merchants take credit cards because they see more business as part of taking credit cards than not, right. And which justifies the increased cost of taking credit cards and may not be the perfect analogy. But I think there are all these kinds of effects going around.”
Google CEO Claims AI Overviews Boost Website Referrals
Further complicating the issue, a report highlights that publishers are experiencing lower click-through rates even when their content is featured in AI Overviews. for example, reported a 43.9% decrease in desktop CTR and a 32.5% drop on mobile when their links appeared within AI Overviews.
Despite these concerns, Pichai remains optimistic about the role of AI in enhancing the search experience. He acknowledges the challenges but believes that AI Overviews can coexist with traditional search methods, ultimately benefiting users and content creators alike.
He said:
“I do think people are consuming a lot more information and the web is one specific format. So we should talk about the web, but zooming back out, …there are new platforms like YouTube and others too. So I think people are just consuming a lot more information, right? So it feels like like an expansionary moment. I think there are more creators. People are putting out more content, you know, and so people are generally doing a lot more. Maybe people have a little extra time in their hands. And so it’s a combination of all that.
On the web, look things have been interesting and you know we’ve had these conversations for a while, you know, obviously in 2015 there was this famous, the web is dead. You know, I always have it somewhere around, you know, which I look at it once in a while. Predictions, it’s existed for a while.
I think web is evolving pretty profoundly. When we crawl, when we look at the number of pages available to us, that number has gone up by 45% in the last two years alone. So that’s a staggering thing to think about.”
As Google continues to refine its AI-driven features, the company faces the delicate task of balancing technological innovation with the needs of publishers and the broader web community. The ongoing dialogue between Google and content creators will be crucial in shaping the future of search and information dissemination.
He continued:
“That doesn’t explain the trend we are seeing. So, generally there are more web pages. At an underlying level, so I think that’s an interesting phenomenom. I think everybody as a creator, like you do at The Verge, I think today if you’re doing stuff you have to do it in a cross-platform, cross-format way. So I think things are becoming more dynamic cross-format.
I think another thing people are underestimating with AI is AI will make it zero-friction to move from one format to another, because our models are multi-modal.
So I think this notion, the static moment of, you produce content by format, whereas I think machines can help translate it from, almost like different languages and they can go seamlessly between. I think it’s one of the incredible opportunities to be unlocked.
I think people are producing a lot of content, and I see consumers consuming a lot of content. We see it in our products. Others are seeing it too. So that’s probably how I would answer at the highest level.”
In conclusion, while Google’s AI Overviews aim to enhance user engagement and website referrals, the actual impact on web traffic remains a topic of active discussion and analysis. Stakeholders across the digital landscape will be closely monitoring these developments to understand the evolving dynamics of search and content visibility.
