Google Expands AI-Generated Overviews for Teen Searchers

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

Google is enhancing its well-known search engine by integrating its latest artificial intelligence technology, aiming to provide users with immediate information as it faces growing competition from smaller tech firms.

On Wednesday, Google announced that it will incorporate its Gemini 2.0 AI model into its search engine. This update is designed to help the search tool answer more complex queries, including topics such as computer coding and mathematics.

Similarly to updates released last May, these AI-generated overviews will now appear above traditional web links. These web links are essential for online publishers who rely on traffic referrals from Google’s dominant search engine.

In a significant move, Google is extending the availability of AI overviews to teenage users in the U.S. They will not have to go through a special sign-in process to access these features.

This update may represent one of the most significant changes to the search engine’s interface since Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in a Silicon Valley garage in the late 1990s.

Google plans to gradually introduce an “AI mode” option, which will allow the search engine to generate even more AI overviews. When using AI mode, the company warns that the overviews could become more conversational and might sometimes lead to inaccuracies, often referred to in the tech world as “hallucinations.”

Robby Stein, Google’s product vice president, acknowledged in a blog post that, "As with any early-stage AI product, we won’t always get it right." He noted that some AI responses might unintentionally come across as personal or express a particular opinion.

To address these potential issues, Google is implementing stricter guidelines to ensure AI mode does not mislead users, particularly on health and finance queries.

The reason for this careful approach is why Google is initially offering AI mode only in its experimental Labs section. At first, only subscribers to its Google One AI Premium service, which costs $20 per month, will be able to test it.

However, such experimental features typically pave the way for wider release, as Google aims to compete with AI-driven search engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity.

The increased use of sophisticated AI overviews could raise concerns that users will be less likely to click on links that lead to other sites with useful information. These referrals are a crucial way for online publishers to attract clicks necessary for selling digital advertisements that fund their operations.

Despite such worries, Google executives argue that AI overviews still drive traffic to other sites by sparking user curiosity, leading to more searches and clicks on publishers’ websites.

Nonetheless, these reassurances have not fully satisfied publishers, who feel that AI overviews disproportionately benefit Google, contributing to its already substantial revenue, exceeding $260 billion annually from advertisements.

The expanded implementation of AI overviews also poses a risk of reinforcing claims against Google concerning its monopolistic practices. A federal judge previously ruled that Google operates as an illegal monopoly, and the U.S. Justice Department is advocating for a partial breakup of the company, which may include the sale of its Chrome browser.

Upcoming hearings regarding potential penalties against Google may also delve deeper into its use of AI in search.

Additionally, an online educational service, Chegg, has recently filed a lawsuit in the same court, accusing Google of improperly using information from its site for its AI overviews. Google has denied these claims.

AI, Google, search