Google’s AI-powered search tool raises concerns for publishers

Google has launched a new search tool called Search Generative Experience (SGE). It is currently available for users in India, Japan, and the United States as an experimental opt-in. SGE uses AI to generate summaries in response to search queries. These summaries are synthesized from multiple websites. Links are provided to explore a topic in more detail.

Publishers are raising concerns about whether users will still click on their links when provided with summaries of their contents by SGE. They fear the impact of SGE on their web traffic, content crediting, and compensation for the content used to train AI models. Therefore, publishers want to be credited as the source of information in the summaries and compensated for their content.

Regarding compensation, Google is still working on understanding the business model of generative AI applications. However, Google has already introduced a tool called Google-Extended in September. The tool allows publishers to block their content from being used for AI training while their content still appears in the SGE or traditional search. Publishers feel uncertain about SGE and its algorithm, questioning how to engage with it. Websites are opting to block their content from being used for AI. The full impact of SGE on publishers remains to be seen.