During a recent interview, Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, delved into the company’s utilization of AI in search results and tackled concerns raised by publishers and website owners regarding its potential influence on web traffic.
Background On AI In Google Search
Google has been progressively integrating AI-generated overviews and summaries into its search results. These AI overviews are designed to offer users swift answers and context directly on the search page. Nevertheless, publishers are apprehensive that this could significantly diminish website click-through rates.
Pichai Claims AI Drives Traffic
Despite concerns, Pichai maintained an optimistic outlook on how AI will affect the web ecosystem in the long run. In an interview with The Verge, he stated, “I remain optimistic. Empirically, what we are seeing throughout these years is that human curiosity is boundless.”
The Google CEO asserted that the company’s internal data indicates increased user engagement with AI overviews, including higher click-through rates on links within these previews compared to regular search results. Pichai explained, “When you give the context, it also exposes people to various branching off, jumping-off points, and so they engage more. So, actually, this is what drives growth over time.”
However, Pichai didn’t provide specific metrics to support this assertion.
Balancing User Experience & Publisher Interests
Pichai claims that Google is striving to strike a balance between meeting user expectations and directing website traffic. He states, “I look at our journey, even the last year through the Search Generative Experience, and I constantly found us prioritizing approaches that would send more traffic while meeting user expectations. … what’s positively surprising us is that people engage more, and that will lead to more growth over time for high-quality content.”
When questioned about anecdotal evidence of some websites experiencing significant traffic declines, Pichai cautioned against drawing broad conclusions from individual cases. He argued that over the past decade, Google has provided more traffic to the web ecosystem.
Pichai believes that the sites losing traffic are the “aggregators in the middle.”
He expressed:
“Reflecting on our perspective, as I delve into the historical data, even within the last decade, we’ve consistently contributed a significant portion of traffic to the ecosystem, fostering its growth.
Interestingly, there have been occasions where we’ve implemented changes specifically to redirect more traffic towards smaller websites. It’s worth noting that some of the most vocal complainers are the middlemen aggregators.
Consider this dilemma: should traffic prioritize the restaurant that invested in creating its own website showcasing menus and services, or should it favor platforms where people discuss and review these establishments? These are complex questions, and I’m not implying there’s a definitive answer.”
Takeaways For Website Owners & SEO Professionals
For those entrenched in the SEO community, Pichai’s remarks provide a glimpse into Google’s strategy and perspective, albeit with a healthy dose of skepticism warranted.
While the CEO painted an optimistic picture of AI’s influence, concrete evidence supporting his assertions was noticeably absent. Website proprietors must maintain a vigilant eye on their analytics to gauge the tangible effects of AI implementations on their traffic.
As Google continues its deployment of AI-driven features in search, the debate surrounding its impact remains unsettled.
Despite Pichai’s positivity, the true ramifications of AI on the web ecosystem remain uncertain. Presently, publishers and SEO experts must remain watchful, adaptable, and outspoken regarding their apprehensions within this swiftly evolving landscape.
Original news from SearchEngineJournal