The state of AI in Google Search
Published July 18, 2024 (7:07 PM) • Updated August 19, 2024 (9:48 PM)
What are AI Overviews?
AI Overviews (AIO), initially branded Search Generative Experience (SGE), are an AI feature of Google Search results that generate answers based on multiple sources.
(1) AI Overview (2) Sources used to generate this AI Overview (3) Regular featured snippets
Launch and history of AI Overviews
AI Overviews were initially launched on May 10th 2023 during the Google I/O conference. They were then still known as Search Generative Experience (SGE).
Initially, AI Overviews were only available through Google Search Labs. The rollout for all Google users took place on May 14th 2024.
Availability of AI Overviews
AI Overviews are currently available in the USA and since August 2024 also in the UK, Japan, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Brazil.
Google announced more regions would "soon" get access to the technology as well, though no specific countries or dates have been mentioned.
In their experimental form, AI Overviews are available via Search Labs in regions outside of the USA. See Google's documentation for the full list of countries and languages with access to Search Labs.
Due to strict European laws, AI Overviews are not yet available in Europe.
Apple Intelligence - a recently announced AI technology for iPhones and other Apple products - is also not releasing in Europe for the time being, probably for similar reasons.
How often are AI Overviews shown?
According to the most recent studies, AI Overviews are currently shown in the Google Search results for less than 10% of searches.
This means: for more than 90% of all Google searches the Search Engine Result Pages look the same as they did before and don't contain any AI Overviews.
This is a big change when compared to just a couple of months ago:
- Up to and including the first quarter of 2024 about 84% (!) of all searches on Google contained an AI Overview
- This number steeply dropped to 35% in April 2024
- The decline continued in May 2024, down to 15%
- According to the most recent BrightEdge study (containing data of July 2024), currently only about 7% of all searches contain an AI Overview *
The poor quality of some AI Overviews and the fuss made about it in the SEO world (and even in mainstream media) are probably related to this gradual decline of AI Overviews being shown.
I suspect Google is currently taking the necessary steps to improve the quality of its AI Overviews. As soon as they have the quality issues under control, AI Overviews will undoubtedly start to appear more frequently again.
* For clarity: these numbers are specifically for AI Overviews being shown in the USA.
Useful references
- https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-overviews: official Google documentation
- https://www.brightedge.com/ai-overviews#h2-12: list of "live updates" based on BrightEdge studies