This article was originally posted on Tech Policy Press by Cameron Pattison, Vance Ricks, and John Wihbey.
In May 2024, Google unveiled a new way to search the web: the AI Overview, which sits just above the classic PageRank cascade in Google Search. It presents you with direct answers to queries, summaries of the content found in the links below, and a carousel of sources. According to Google, AI Overviews (and AI Mode) promise speed, accuracy, directness of answers, effortless convenience, and an ability to “do more than you ever imagined.”
The rollout sparked both excitement and unease, prompting researchers, publishers, and policymakers to ask how this shift might reshape the economics, governance, and epistemic norms of online search. Last week, Google issued a blog post to reassure the public about these changes. While offering few details, the company reported that overall click volume from Search has remained stable year-over-year, that the proportion of “high-quality clicks” has grown, and that AI results are designed to “highlight the web” rather than replace it. If accurate, these are encouraging numbers for some publishers and creators.
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