It’s no exaggeration to say that AI has fundamentally changed everything we thought we knew about the Internet, and this is no more evident than in Google’s drastic changes to search announced at this year’s Google I/O event.
In case you missed it, the slogan on which the Silicon Valley giant hinged much of its two-hour presentation was: “Google search is now AI search.” So what does that mean?
We’ve shared our preview of the new features coming to Google Search and its results page if you want the gist, or you can watch our latest podcast episode where myself, Hamish Hector, Lance Ulanoff, Axel Metz and Matthew Bolton discuss the talk in full.
What’s more interesting to me is how it changes things for you, the reader who finds new content and answers to their burning questions using the world’s largest search engine. Here’s how it could change the way you use the Internet.
Look on it
Trust me, just in me
But first, let’s explore the “why.” Google no longer just wants to be the home page of your Internet browser; now I feel like he wants be Internet. Its biggest-ever changes to the search box and results page mark a huge shift from Google as a gateway to more content to bypassing content creators altogether.
Despite Google’s assurances during I/O that trusted sources and websites will still be suggested as part of its new, extensive, widget-laden AI presentation, and of course users will still be able to see a list of results as usual underneath, there is one glaring omission overall; How will Google Search provide reliable information when these sources no longer exist?
The fact is that websites like TechRadar rely heavily on Google search results to connect with our audiences around the world. Yet with all these changes to Google, posts are getting fewer and fewer references. This had an immediate effect; Some of my favorite tech and gaming publications have already closed their doors, good journalists are out of work, and there remains a huge question mark over how we adapt to this rapidly changing space — and that should interest you, too.
Because where on earth will Google find its reliable information and the “1 billion facts” that it updates every minute if there is no longer anyone to publish it?
I heard it through the grapevine
You may have already noticed, but Google relies heavily on sites like YouTube and community sites like Reddit to inform its results; both of which are platforms I use regularly for the same thing. The difference is that as an informed reader, I can understand the difference between user-generated content that contains bias and information presented by regulated, accredited media outlets.
We don’t always get it right, nor are we entirely free of bias, but journalists are a darn more likely to present a balanced point of view than your average Joe because of the various hoops we have to jump through to maintain our trusted status – something that Google itself has fostered and encouraged with some of its SEO advice over the years.
Remove as much technical jargon as possible, what does it mean for Youdear reader, is that the best and worst case scenario would be to ask Google to help you troubleshoot your smart home setup or PC build. This might bring up advice from a post 7 years ago on Reddit by someone who maybe has the assets to give this advice. But at worst, it means you could be manipulated by nefarious actors gaming the system.
This is something the BBC has just explored recently; In just 20 minutes, journalist Thomas Germain managed to manipulate Gemini and ChatGPT into believing that he was a world champion hot dog eater. In his most recent article, he notes how Google is fighting misinformation by imposing tough penalties on brands and sites seen as manipulating search results, but doing so at scale on user-generated sites will be a difficult task.
So instead, a brand might choose to pay a YouTuber or a TikToker, or create a few dozen bot accounts on Reddit to deliver the same message; ours is the best phone, the best web hosting service, the best VPN. It becomes doubly distressing if you ask questions related to health, finances or security and unknowingly follow advice from manipulative or unreliable sources.
What can you do about it? That’s not much if you plan to continue using Google Search regardless. Changing search engines is an option, or simply refusing to engage in AI mode, but personally I would like to hope that you all develop your own idea of what a reliable source looks like and jump to it directly the next time you have a query.
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