Google Search is Dead

AI is changing everything about Google Search and it’s huge news for any marketer or publisher.

What’s the change? ICYMI, AI Overviews are already the default response for consumer queries in the U.S. and this is coming to other markets very soon.

To quote Wired (paywall):

“It’s as though Google took the index cards for the screenplay it’s been writing for the past 25 years and tossed them into the air to see where the cards might fall. Also: the screenplay was written by AI.”

Whilst many questions remain, there are three immediate implications.

Let’s dig into what they are and why they matter…

Google Zero

The Editor-in-chief of The Verge, Nilay Patel, is naming this day, ‘Google Zero’. In short, traffic is being cut off to publisher sites because the AI summaries are giving people the answers they requested, without the need to click anywhere else. And publishers are split between whether to fight back or cut a deal.

As Search Engine Land comments, it’s “…a fundamentally different user experience”. Why? Because it is becoming a solution engine, not a search engine, by the bots making at least some of the decisions on the part of the person searching for answers (and deciding when to take those decisions).

Wrong’uns

AI has already shown that is sometimes gives answers that are factually wrong (anyone fancy glue pizza or eating some rocks?!?).

Of course, the technology will improve over time, but what happens if the bot gives false information about a brand to a customer? It’s unclear what a brand can do to stop this happening, but marketing teams need a reactive plan if they don’t have one already.

The Final Countdown

When we look back at this moment, it will probably be the last time we maintained a distinction between ‘search’ and ‘social’.

Gartner predicts that traditional search engine volume will decline by 25% by 2026 due to the rise of AI chatbots and other virtual agents, across social platforms and elsewhere.

But regardless of which bot is providing the solutions to consumer queries, there needs to be a source of data for the response so quality marketing content will remain important.

Why does this matter for marketers?

Brands will need to be more selective about the publishers they partner with because it is going to be harder than ever for smaller publishers to survive in the Google Zero era.

Marketing and PR will need to work closer than ever to be ready when there is AI-generated misinformation that impacts the brand.

Brands can still win here, but the content - whether it’s original video or a PR article - will need to be more targeted than ever. To quote Gartner:

“Companies will need to focus on producing unique content that is useful to customers and prospective customers”.

Bonus Links:

Click here for how to track your brand’s Google AI Overview Inclusions

Click here if you want to hide Google AI Overviews

Full interview in The Verge with Google CEO, Sundar Pichai