Embracing The Googlevolution.

In the last edition, we looked at how Google has evolved over its lifespan in anticipation of huge announcements at Google I/O. Those announcements have been made. Search is most definitely going to evolve. The AI race is now into high gear.

Today we address the new announcements made in terms of how Google is integrating AI into its search experience - labelled as the Search Generative Experience. We’ll briefly discuss the impacts as well; something many people are currently sharing their initial thoughts on whose industries are impacted by the changes - but we’ll keep it brief for this addition and expand in a follow up. Lastly, we quickly look at other AI integrations in Google Apps and services as these are interesting to know about and observe - and are currently getting buried in the ‘search impact’ wave of Google’s top announcement.

1: How Will Google Search Evolve? The Deets. (Thus far).

Generative AI is well underway at Google. We knew something like this was coming as other competitors, namely Bing!, had already announced how far they had, (and were willing to), embrace AI into the user search experience. Many of the revelations about how Google would incorporate search could be predicted with enough rational thought. Actually seeing how these will be incorporated confirmed that the nature of search really is about to change.

Here are the main aspects:

i) Understanding Multiple Facets in a Query.

A convoluted question make take multiple searches to obtain all of the intent that was required. Now such a query may have a curated response to address as much of the intent as possible.

This leads to the next aspect.

ii) A Curated AI Response at The Top of The Results.

This is huge. A curated AI response sits as the first result, drawing in information from trusted sources. This is currently remarked upon by SEOs as a 'featured snippet on steroids'. See the snapshot above to see how this looks. The old model of ‘top ten search results’ is over, (and was already phased out for an ‘infinite search’ model). Search results do show further down the page, but appear to be dwarfed by the presence above them. Not only that, the function of this curation can be explored further using AI in the following ways.

iii) Suggested Next Steps

Below the curated AI result sits an array of further actions a user may take to expand upon their search intent. These include follow up questions at the click of a button. The most fascinating aspect here is that the AI will carry over the context from one question to another, really defining the information provided for the user’s needs. Users can also jump off the robotic conversation train to engage with websites. Speaking of which…

iv) Highlighted Sources.

This is where websites probably want to shine. To the right of the curated response, (again shown in the picture above), those top websites that provided the source for AI curation will be highlighted here.

v) Conversational AI.

Similar to Bing!, users will have the option of initiating a conversation with the AI to generate further interactions.

2: What Are The Possible Impacts We Can Ascertain?

Right now the news is very fresh and the impacts are currently being discussed around the world. For now, (and we plan to report further on this down the line), some of the biggest observations include:

• Traditional search results are to be pushed down in favour of curated results. Websites will want to be highlighted in the curation. This means aspects of SEO will undoubtedly change, yet having SEO assistance and expertise on your side is as vital as ever.
• The shopping experience is about to change. Using Google’s Shopping Graph, over 35 billion product listings will be accessed to provide a curated AI response that will also include informational considerations for the user and follow up responses.
• It appears through the provided examples that AI led results benefit actual business sites and commerce sites over publications with comparison articles or review affiliate sites. This may depend upon which sites get featured in the ‘snippets’ to the right and what the curated AI answers in its own response. (In general, big publishers may potentially lose out and well optimised services/products could shine through).
• The incorporation of ‘Perspectives’, (touched upon in a previous newsletter), a feature introduced into the results, may provide some helpful exposure to creators or publications, keeping in line with the ‘experience’ of real people in Google’s E.E.A.T. model. (See the picture below).
• Entity/AI SEO is to become more important than ever.

3: Where Else is Google Implementing AI Technology?

The short and unfulfilling answer: many places. Google Bard has been announced as spreading out to 180 countries, and Google has AI technology in mind for many of its apps and services. We point out the most interesting ones below:

i) Gmail Help Me Write

Getting suggested prompts when writing emails, or email replies, is a thing of the past. On Gmail, with a click of a button, you can put in your prompt for what you’d like to communicate, and the AI will generate a response based on that prompt and any previous correspondence on that email. Instead of spending hours awkwardly coming up with the perfect response to an unrequited love interest, Google will help you let them down in a quick and fashionable manner.?

ii) Immersive View: Maps and Weather

Planning a trip or just a walk around the block? Both Google Maps and Weather apps can now show you what your perfect route may look like, in advance, in a cinematic way - including the weather you may encounter at a specific time and place.

iii) Google Photos Magic Editor

To be brutally honest, this one is for photographic artists, (or perfectionists), and not for true photographers at heart - depending on your viewpoint of whether you want a photo to reflect the truth of what is taken vs. the idealised version of it. That’s a debate for elsewhere. What is interesting here is the creative control one can take with a photograph that’s ‘not quite right’. Is something out of frame? Just move it over and the AI will fill in what was missing. Is the sky not right? Well, change it Picasso! These were the two examples of what can only be imagined as a plethora of photographic changes. All we can say is, RIP all of those ghost-hunting pictures from here on in.

iv) Magic Compose

Are you envious of people who can respond creatively in messaging apps? Now you too can be silver-tongued, (or should that be silver-fingered), when responding to a text or message. With the touch of a button and a prompt, you’ll have access to a wide array of different ways to rejig your response, such as ‘Shakespearean’ should the situation warrant such wit.

v) Generative and Cinematic Wallpapers

Bored of wallpaper templates or static photos? Well, here’s some excellent news. Now you can create your own masterpiece, including the ability to make an image pop by having AI generate a cinematic 3D creation.

For visual expansion on these and covering those we did not touch on, have a look at your leisure at this highlighted video edit HERE.

Big Shifts. What Now?

It’s only a few days old, but already the news, impacts, theories, and speculations are roaming the digital marketing communications - and this will only increase as more details spring to light and as people get to experiment and interact with the changes as they’re realised. Let’s see what unfolds over the next two weeks as we report back with a focus on Entity SEO and ranking with AI in mind!