Google begins testing AI-only search results (1 Viewer)

[Cpvr]

Google has become so integral to online navigation that its name became a verb, meaning "to find things on the Internet." Soon, Google might just tell you what's on the Internet instead of showing you. The company has announced an expansion of its AI search features, powered by Gemini 2.0. Everyone will soon see more AI Overviews at the top of the results page, but Google is also testing a more substantial change in the form of AI Mode. This version of Google won't show you the 10 blue links at all—Gemini completely takes over the results in AI Mode.

This marks the debut of Gemini 2.0 in Google search. Google announced the first Gemini 2.0 models in December 2024, beginning with the streamlined Gemini 2.0 Flash. The heavier versions of Gemini 2.0 are still in testing, but Google says it has tuned AI Overviews with this model to offer help with harder questions in the areas of math, coding, and multimodal queries.

With this update, you will begin seeing AI Overviews on more results pages, and minors with Google accounts will see AI results for the first time. In fact, even logged out users will see AI Overviews soon. This is a big change, but it's only the start of Google's plans for AI search.

Gemini 2.0 also powers the new AI Mode for search. It's launching as an opt-in feature via Google's Search Labs, offering a totally new alternative to search as we know it. This custom version of the Gemini large language model (LLM) skips the standard web links that have been part of every Google search thus far. The model uses "advanced reasoning, thinking, and multimodal capabilities" to build a response to your search, which can include web summaries, Knowledge Graph content, and shopping data. It's essentially a bigger, more complex AI Overview.

As Google has previously pointed out, many searches are questions rather than a string of keywords. For those kinds of queries, an AI response could theoreticallyprovide an answer more quickly than a list of 10 blue links. However, that relies on the AI response being useful and accurate, something that often still eludes generative AI systems like Gemini.
Google insists this is not the end of web search, saying that helping people discover content online "remains central" to its approach. Indeed, the examples Google shows include links and citations from around the web similar to AI Overviews. However, you can't just scroll down in AI Mode to see organic results. Instead, AI Mode is designed to operate in a conversational way, allowing you to refine your search or ask follow-up questions.


If this sounds like something you absolutely do not want, you can safely ignore it for now. The experimental feature is only available for Google One AI Premium subscribers, who pay $20 per month for access to Google's best LLMs. This could be an indication that generating these search pages is extremely costly even for a company that gives away so much AI processing for free. Still, Google's AI efforts move fast, and you could find yourself confronted with AI Mode soon. It only took a few months for the Search Generative Experience to graduate from Labs as AI Overviews.

Google notes that it still has a lot of work to do before AI Mode is ready for prime time—it's a dramatic departure for a core part of the Google experience, after all. Google says the AI-only searches might not always be able to offer a good rundown. In those instances, it will fall back to showing you traditional links to websites that can answer your questions. AI Mode may also appear to take on a persona or form an opinion like a chatbot while it's still in development.

The feedback from the public test will help Google address AI Mode's shortcomings and make rapid changes to the experience. If you want to check out AI Mode, you can join the waitlist in Search Labs. If not, it's probably only a matter of time before you have no choice. No one was exactly clamoring for AI Overviews, but that hasn't stopped Google from pushing it to ever more searches.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/google/2025...overviews-and-testing-ai-only-search-results/

 

[Cpvr]

Google has provided a new update regarding AI overviews:

 

[Bryn]

I hope they make this optional but, if they're going to force it on everyone, I think it's time to jump ship to DuckDuckGo...

 

[CTS]

They say they want it easy to click on sites, and maybe they will.

Now if the AI has already provided the answer to the query, then why would somebody click anything after that.

Again, AI is just a nice way to describe non-attributing content scrapers.

jmo

 

[Cpvr]

I hope they make this optional but, if they're going to force it on everyone, I think it's time to jump ship to DuckDuckGo...

It’s possible to deactivate it, but it won’t be for every single search.

“AI Overviews and more” in Search Labs - Android - Google Search Help

Note: This Help Center article applies to users who have opted-in to the "AI Overviews and more” experiment in Search Labs

support.google.com

Tips:

• You'll find the Search Labs icon
  
  next to AI Overviews when you’ve opted into the “AI Overviews and more” experiment in Search Labs.
• If you don't find the Search Labs icon
  
  next to AI Overviews you don't have this experiment turned on, you can refer to AI Overviews in Search.

You can also install these two browser extensions to remove it.

• Hide Google AI Overviews: This Chrome extension removes AI-generated summaries from your Google search results.
  • Bye Bye, Google AI: Another Chrome extension designed to block AI overviews.
    

 

[Cpvr]

A new chart has been released showcasing how AI overviews has been effecting some website’s traffic thus far.



Which means, it’s a good idea to diversify your traffic sources.

 

[Matthew]

Honestly, ChatGPT and Google AI answer the majority of things I am Googling. I'd prefer more direct linking for further research (such as today, Google answered a question but I had to dig a bit deeper to find a reputable link for Google's recommendation.) From a user standpoint, I like the user friendliness. I think one thing AI is not going to be able to capture is the community element. For instance, AI isn't going to rant about the latest RuneScape update with me like my friends would.

This decline in user interaction could be a positive for forums as people look to expand their search with true collaboration.

 

[Cpvr]

Honestly, ChatGPT and Google AI answer the majority of things I am Googling. I'd prefer more direct linking for further research (such as today, Google answered a question but I had to dig a bit deeper to find a reputable link for Google's recommendation.) From a user standpoint, I like the user friendliness. I think one thing AI is not going to be able to capture is the community element. For instance, AI isn't going to rant about the latest RuneScape update with me like my friends would.

This decline in user interaction could be a positive for forums as people look to expand their search with true collaboration.

I don’t see this shift benefiting forums unless AI-generated overviews include more direct links to original sources. If users can’t find specific information because AI summaries exclude certain details, and those sites don’t appear in search results, it will be nearly impossible for forums to attract traffic and new users. Many websites have already suffered from ‘zero-click’ searches, where users get answers without ever visiting the source. Without better integration of direct links, forums will struggle to bring in new users, and even regular websites will face challenges. The next few years will be rough unless websites diversify their traffic sources.

AI overviews is slicing traffic across the board for many websites since it's been rolled out.

 

[CTS]

I think when google starts seeing their advertising revenue from legitimate websites drop proportionately to the ai scraped results increasing, they my be changing their tune. Why pay for keywords when the only visitor will be Google AI pre-answering client queries. And why pay for ad impressions that show up on websites from Google when nobody see's them anymore.