Google's Search Generative Experience tested: A Bing competitor at last

Here are my initial thoughts on generative AI in Google’s search results with the Search Generative Experience (SGE). If you already signed up to join the waitlist, Google will email you when access is granted. Otherwise, tap the Labs icon on Chrome or the latest version of the Google app. Enabling the Google Generative AI search feature is a straightforward process. Visit the Google homepage, click on the settings option at the bottom right corner, and select “Search Settings” from the dropdown menu. The eCommerce industry is one of the first industries to be truly disrupted by this because Google already has great eCommerce data from Google’s Shopping Graph for their AI search engine to train on.

• To access SGE, you can find it in the Search Labs section of the Google app on Android and iOS and on Chrome on the desktop.
• This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay.
• If AI answers in search results isn't for you, use these steps to disable the feature on Google search.
• When you open certain articles with these apps, you can tap to view a list of important points generated by SGE, making long-form articles easier to read.
• During this time he has managed more than $5 million in ad spend and worked with clients ranging from small businesses to global brands.

An “Explore on page” feature will also show you the questions that the article answers and help you jump to the relevant section to learn more. This experiment is also coming to Chrome on desktop “in the days ahead,” Google says. In addition, Google is opening access to other Search Labs, including Code Tips and Add to Sheets (both are US-only for now). Meanwhile, as its name suggests, Add to Sheets lets you insert search results directly into Google’s spreadsheet app. Tapping a Sheets icon to the left of a search result will pop up a list of your recent documents; choose one to which you want to attach the result.

The Introduction of Search Generative Experiences (SGE)

In general, I’ve found that Google’s Search Generative Experience box only appears when you don’t address or expect it. So if you want advice or opinion, you’re still better off with Bing Chat or Google’s Bard chatbot. In the past, I have reviewed Google’s Bard chatbot and felt as though Bing was doing a better job overall. My biggest gripe with Bard has been the lack of citations, something that generative AI within Search is designed to do a better job of.

Simply visit the Google Labs website, log in with your Google account, and navigate to the Generative AI section to sign up. Review the terms and conditions before clicking the submit button to complete the registration process. Learn more about how schema markup can help you take control of how your brand shows up in search and drive more quality organic search traffic to your website.

Google Opens Limited Access to Its New AI-Based Generative Search

Like, for example, when I searched for “best Android phones”, the AI-generated summary matched our recommendations almost perfectly. However, it chose to highlight the Galaxy S23 as “Good for gaming” and the Pixel 7 as “Good for business”. There Yakov Livshits are clear differences among Google AI Search and Bing Chat with respect to how citations for text usage operates. In particular, Bing Chat provides direct attribution when there is a match among text on a web page and what the AI answer is.

Google is committed to continually enhancing the search experience, and this initiative is a testament to that commitment. In addition to this, users can also ask follow-up questions or select a suggested next step, which will take them into conversational mode. This feature adds an interactive element to the search process, making it more engaging and personalized. Maxwell is a technology enthusiast who spends most of his time testing productivity software and exploring the new generation of AI chatbots. With a quirky sense of humor and a passionate love for all things tech, Maxwell leverages his 8+ years of experience in tech writing to simplify complex concepts for both novices and experts alike.

This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers. For example, it offers us three factors to take into account when choosing the best bluetooth speaker, thus avoiding going into three or four searches or articles to find this information.

Yakov Livshits
Founder of the DevEducation project
A prolific businessman and investor, and the founder of several large companies in Israel, the USA and the UAE, Yakov’s corporation comprises over 2,000 employees all over the world. He graduated from the University of Oxford in the UK and Technion in Israel, before moving on to study complex systems science at NECSI in the USA. Yakov has a Masters in Software Development.

With generative AI in Search, we can help you understand the full picture when you’re shopping, making even the most considered and complex purchase decisions faster and much easier. It’s also worth noting that SGE is only available in the US, India, and Japan for now. However, some users have reported success with using a VPN to join the waitlist and access the feature once invited. Another good example of Google’s SGE in action is for a query where I currently rank within the featured snippet for an article in the US. All of the content within my article is unique to my expertise (I have a ton of experience in Marketplace SEO), so I’m confident that I’m the original source of information.

It never happens instantly. The business game is longer than you know.

Skilled SEOs are not only creative, but they're also technically savvy. They possess analytical skills, particularly as data-driven insights become increasingly valuable. Organizations often rely on them to understand what is happening in their market.

I'm a technical writer who loves to create clear and engaging content for complex topics. I have a background in computer science, and I enjoy exploring new technologies and sharing my insights with others. I believe that good communication is the key to success in any field, and I'm passionate about helping people learn and grow through my writing. Programmers will be happy to learn that SGE will now help you understand the code it generates by adding syntax highlighting. This means important parts of the code, like keywords, comments, and strings, will be highlighted in different colors, so you can see them easily.

To help generative AI search engines truly understand and contextualize your content, you need to ensure your Schema Markup is connected to other entities on your site and other external authoritative sources. Though far from perfect, this is an opportunity for search engine optimizers to capitalize. Google’s generative AI search engine does showcase links that attribute information back to reputable source content. However, users may no longer need to click to read this content (resulting in zero-click searches), which limits your visibility and overall influence over the customer journey. SGE and the overall evolution of search experiences actually cements the shift from SEO as a silo to a vital source of business intelligence insights.

“SGE while browsing” was specifically designed to help people more deeply engage with long-form content from publishers and creators, and make it easier to find what you’re looking for while browsing the web. On some web pages you visit, you can tap to see an AI-generated list of the key points an article covers, with links that will take you straight to what you’re looking for directly on the page. We’ll also help you dig deeper with “Explore on page,” where you can see questions the article answers and jump to the relevant section to learn more. For instance, if a user is searching for a laptop, they can ask SGE what are the basic features to consider, and receive a summary of different articles that address the query.

This past May at Google I/O, Google announced its brand new Search Generative Experience and it has garnered the lion’s share of the spotlight. Despite the pace of its AI innovation, Google says it is committed to adhering to the voluntary AI guardrails proposed by the U.S. The firm says it will ensure its AI products are safe for consumer usage before full-scale rollouts while pledging prioritized early access to researchers in the United Kingdom. Using generative AI, Google says it will provide concise summaries for several concepts from economics, history, and science. After its beta launching in June, Google stated that it had received positive feedback from early users and is keen on expanding the service’s functionalities. He's a Google Ads expert with over 12 years of experience in running Google Ads campaigns.

I think we can all agree that there’s no denying the potential of generative AI technology, especially in search. According to Google, when you type in a question like “What’s better for a family with kids under 3 and a dog, Bryce Canyon or Arches? ” The normal thing to do would be to break this one question down into smaller ones, then Yakov Livshits look through various articles provided, and start to piece things together yourself. However, with generative AI now available in Search, it can do some of that piecing of information together for you. Google says you’ll see an AI-powered snapshot of the key information you’ve searched for, with links to dig deeper at the bottom.