Google has rolled out its AI-powered search feature, AI Overviews, to the UK and five other countries, offering users AI-generated summaries to enhance their search experience.
Google Expands AI Overviews in Search to the UK and Other Countries
Google has announced the expansion of its artificial intelligence-powered search results feature, known as AI Overviews, to the UK and five additional countries. This marks a significant step in the tech giant’s ongoing integration of AI technology into its search engine functions.
The AI Overviews feature, which debuted publicly in the United States in May, provides users with AI-generated summaries and links relevant to their search queries. These summaries are designed to appear at the top of the search results page, offering users instant insights and prompting further exploration into their topics of interest. Apart from the UK, the feature is now being rolled out in India, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, and Brazil, with local language support available in each region.
The introduction of AI Overviews to these new markets follows a preliminary test conducted in the UK in April, which involved a limited number of search queries and traffic. This wider rollout will make AI-powered insights accessible to a broader audience, enhancing the search experience particularly for longer and more complex queries.
Hema Budaraju, Google’s Senior Director for Product Management at Google Search, highlighted the value of this new tool. “Already, people are asking longer questions, diving deeper into complex subjects and uncovering new perspectives – which means more opportunities for people to discover content from publishers, businesses, and creators,” she stated. Budaraju also noted that the feature has led to increased engagement and user satisfaction in the United States since its launch.
The feature is geared towards complex topics or detailed searches where traditional search methods might fall short. However, Google has acknowledged some challenges. Early adopters in the US reported various issues, including unusual and inaccurate responses. Google attributes these errors to factors such as misinterpretations of the queries, nuances in language, or insufficient information on the web. These issues are not unique to AI Overviews and are challenges faced by other search features as well.
To address these concerns, Google plans a gradual rollout of AI Overviews. “We’ll be rolling this expansion out gradually over the course of several weeks, with a focus on maintaining Search’s high bar for information quality,” said Budaraju. She assured that the deployment would adhere to Google’s core quality and safety systems, which have been refined over decades.
In addition to enhancing the user experience, AI Overviews aim to drive higher engagement rates, particularly among younger users aged 18-24. Google’s research indicates that these users are more inclined to use search when it includes AI-generated insights, thereby increasing the overall utilisation and satisfaction rates.
Overall, while AI Overviews present an innovative step forward in search technology, the phased and cautious approach taken by Google underscores the complexity and potential pitfalls of integrating AI technology into widely used platforms. The expansion effort signifies Google’s commitment to evolving its search capabilities and meeting the diverse needs of its global user base.
