The Rising Power of AI Summaries
Google has a new feature called AI summaries, available on every page you visit. There will be a side panel with an AI overview providing you with a clean and neat summary of the page. Cute, easy, right? Now, let me ask you a question: would you read the whole article when a summary is already provided? I know I’d still scroll through just to be sure I didn’t miss anything, because I never trust any AI.
What’s Changing in Google Discover?
AI Summarizer in the Discover Feed
Google is testing an AI summarizer at the top of the news articles and Discover cards on Android and IOS devices. You’ll see multiple publisher logos and then 3 lines of AI-generated text of that very article, with a “See More” option on the trending items or other articles. Users get a personalized Discover card, like a quick bite on top of the news article.
Broader AI Summerizer in Search and Beyond
This isn’t just about Discover; remember the AI summary in the search bar launched in May 2024. You get complete answers for your queries at the top without much scrolling and clicking. Evan, all the Google apps are getting an AI summarizer as an inbuilt feature. It’s morphing into the default feature, which many ignore, like reading terms and conditions.
Why Publishers Are Losing Out?
Zero‑Click Surge from AI Summarizer
AI summarizer might be good, great, even, but here’s the concerning part. Due to these summaries, real writers and publishers are not getting enough clicks. As much as it’s a wonderful way to help the users. But this creates a major problem for publishers who put so much effort into creating content. And then features like this drain all the effort and money from real, legit content creators. Publishers are losing all the traffic due to the latest AI summary feature because users don’t visit or click on the real articles.
Declines Across Major Outlets Due to AI Summaries
Big firms like HuffPost and Business Insider are down by 50-55% in the last three years. Imagine if firms this big are losing clicks and being infected by the zero‑click surge, what would happen to smaller publishing firms? They might not even get recognised at all. As reported by TechCrunch, The New York Times lost shares from 44% to 36.5%. The EU even filed antitrust claims stating “Google is misusing web content.”
SEO Implications & What You Can Do?
How to Optimize Content for the AI Summarizer?
How do you rank on Google now that the AI summarizer has taken over the web search? In my opinion, the only way to rank is to learn how LLMs work and be noticed by them, and still make money. When AI summaries are taking over the internet, old-school SEO tricks won’t work. Publishers need to up their game by making the content AI-friendly, which will get picked by LLMs. That also means content creators need to structure the content in a way that the LLM will find relevant and use it as results.
Legal & Ethical Fight Around the AI Summarizer
Antitrust Moves in the EU
According to WinBuzzer, the EU’s publishers filed an antitrust complaint on June 30th, citing, Google’s AI summarizer is “misusing content” and it’s an abuse of market dominance. These AI overviews are theft of original content written by content creators. But there’s a way to turn off the AI overview.
- Open Chrome or Google on your device
- In Search Labs, find the “AI Overviews and more” option.
- Toggle the switch to the off position.
I know it’s hard to live without AI nowadays, but honestly, AI is just making you dumb and dumber. I can’t sugarcoat the harsh truth. Nobody wants to put in effort into researching. People just ChatGPT everything, and now AI summarizes, it’s even easier.
Final Words
In summary, the AI summarizer is not a feature; it’s a game-changer. It is giving rise to searches that don’t involve clicking, excluding publishers from the equation, and prompting legal action in the EU and the US. What this implies is obvious: if you rely on natural traffic, you must adapt your approach immediately. Emphasize incorporating AI. Make your original opinions uncopyable by summaries. And observe keenly how regulations may transform to assist you next time.
Until we meet next, scroll!
