In September 2024, we reported that Google is ramping up AI in search to rival OpenAI launching SearchGPT.
Google is also facing another serious threat from the US Department of Justice (DoJ), which following the landmark anti-trust defeat could see Google’s business units broken up into separate companies.
As media organization’s are reporting, Google might be forced to “divest parts of its business, such as its Chrome browser and Android operating system, that it says are used to maintain an illegal monopoly in online search.”
As the DoJ found, “Google’s monopoly in general search [is] remarkably durable,” going from around 80% in 2009 to 90% in 2020, with that position for global general search (GSE) dominance being maintained consistently.
This case found that Google knew, for a long time, that it could keep its search product as is without making changes (or even degrading the quality of results), without affecting its business model.
Until now.
Now with OpenAI and other AI-powered search engines coming into the market (and the DoJ ruling), Google has to act to retain its market dominance in search and paid search.
If millions of people go to rivals, then search volumes will reduce, and advertising revenue will plummet as a result.
The DoJ won’t need to break up Google’s business units because the market could do that for them if Google fails to maintain its monopoly.
Google needs to improve it’s core search product otherwise it won’t have a monopoly for much longer.
How’s Google Improving AI Overviews in Search?
In an attempt to:
- Improve their core search product;
- Combat AI-based threats such as OpenAI launching SearchGPT;
- Perhaps mitigate against forced divestments;
Google is ramping up attempts to improve the search experience with AI, and one way is enhanced AI Overviews.
As Google notes: “The ways people ask questions today have expanded beyond the search box. Now, consumers are using their voices to find answers on the go, and their cameras to explore the world around them. This evolution in search behavior has opened up exciting new opportunities for businesses to connect with their audiences in new ways.”
AI Overviews were already becoming normal before this announcement. Not everyone was thrilled with the accuracy or user experience. However, Google has been working on this feature, and improvements are being noticed.
Now, Google has taken a further step by integrating Google Ads with AI Overviews.
As they say following this announcement:
- AI Overviews in Search help you quickly find information and discover all the web has to offer.
- We’ve found that people who engage with AI Overviews are more satisfied with their search results, and find ads appearing above and below the overview helpful.
- Search and Shopping ads would appear directly within AI Overviews when relevant to both the query and the response provided.
- This new ad format was designed to help people discover new brands and make informed purchasing decisions.
- Ads will continue to feature our industry-leading clear and transparent “Sponsored” label.
Google has also integrated AI Overviews with Lens, so with an image-based search you should be able to find a product, compare prices, read reviews, and purchase something.
What does all of this mean for SEO?
A little like with the DoJ ruling, it’s still early days.
AI Overviews are still in beta, so the impact on SEO is unclear at present. Think of it like Snippets and summaries; if you’re producing SEO content that gets pulled into the top positions than the AI bots will make use of that and present that to even more people.
So, it continues to be about producing the highest-quality and most relevant articles and web pages that rank in search results for questions your customers/audience are asking.
For now, the best things you can do are:
- Find out how to improve the SEO of your website and content with an SEO Audit and Topical Map.
- This will also show you what Technical SEO fixes are required.
- Create a link building strategy that will increase your business’s backlink profile, which will help you rank higher in search engines, bringing in more traffic and sales leads.
- Create an SEO content marketing strategy that will have the same impact, improving your website’s DA, CTR, search rankings, traffic, and sales leads.
- To maximize results: Combine a link building strategy with SEO content marketing and on-page optimizations.
Talk to us today about SEO services you can depend on. OutreachMama is trusted by over 300 companies worldwide to generate high-impact organic growth from Google. OutreachMama can deliver every SEO service you need to improve your rankings and drive more traffic, sales leads, and customers to your website.