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Google’s newest chapter in AI-powered search is more than just a technological leap. It is a shaking shift in who controls the flow and shape of information on the Internet. The rollout of AI Overviews and its Search Generative Experience (SGE) by the company marks a decisive shift toward summarizing, synthesizing, and presenting information directly to users, sometimes even before they have a chance to view traditional search listings.
Google has established itself as the world's largest search engine and a prominent leader in generative AI. This raises important questions about who decides what information is delivered to billions of people daily and how this process works. In this context, Google not only organizes the web but also increasingly interprets it for users, blurring the line between being a neutral indexer and acting as an editorial gatekeeper.
The implementation of Overviews has changed the information game. Precisely, AI-generated summaries are the crème de la crème of placements on the search results page; they answer user queries in a conversational tone, and rarely require the user to click on a website from the sources.
One alternative perspective is that this approach is designed for the user's convenience: "Google will do the Googling for you," as Liz Reid, the head of Search, explained. The concept is that minimal effort should be required for gathering information.
This convenience does have a price. The scenario is harsher for publishers, bloggers, and content creators. Traffic and advertising revenue, which are two main lifelines of the web, are threatened as users tend to receive answers within the very Google ecosystem.
When detailed guides, news stories, or tutorials are condensed into brief answers within snippets by AI, original voices and sources tend to fade away. Some publishers consider that Google AI has been built atop their work and summarizes and repackages their efforts for those who may never visit their sites.
The rise of generative AI models has shifted the role of Google’s algorithms, moving beyond simply ranking and surfacing content. Now, these algorithms also interpret, filter, and assemble information. While previous search algorithms focused on relevance, the new approach raises concerns about accuracy, source diversity, and potential bias.
AI-generated answers are not just direct reflections of content available on the internet; instead, they are composites influenced by the data that Google’s models process and the company’s curation choices. This change blurs the lines between a search engine and an editorial function, a distinction that the public and regulators are only beginning to grasp.
This concentration of power evoked sharp responses from regulators, especially in the European Union. The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) considers Google a digital 'gatekeeper' and professionalizes the legislation, compelling it to adhere to newer demands aimed at preserving competition and upholding media diversity.
With the integrated features of AI in Google threatening to dethrone independent publishers through self-preferencing, policymakers are now considering whether the alleged control over access to information exercised by this tech giant contradicts the very concept of pluralism and dynamism in the online ecosystem.
The ongoing investigations are evaluating whether the AI Overviews have the unfair effect of displaying Google's own services or whether they are potentially impeding original journalism by reducing direct clicks to source content.
The rights of content creators are coming into focus, as many of them lack the means to prevent their work from being used and repurposed by Google's large language models without compensation or the ability to opt out.
Google, for its part, argues that AI-driven search benefits users and supports publishers by offering new ways to engage and create value. However, as Google’s search experience becomes increasingly generative, the implications of these choices will heighten concerns about transparency, fairness, and the fundamental structure of the web.
The well-known phrase "Google it" has evolved beyond simply generating a ranked list of links. It now represents a shift towards AI-driven answers shaped by the technologies and decisions of a single company. This move to AI search, which serves as a digital gatekeeper, raises an important question: Who controls access to information, and whose voices are amplified in the digital marketplace?
While regulators aim to limit Google’s unprecedented influence, the impact of these changes on the openness, diversity of perspectives, and vitality of the internet is still debatable. Ultimately, as the distinction between facilitator and arbitrator becomes increasingly unclear, we find ourselves at a societal crossroads. We must consider how much trust and control we are willing to relinquish to algorithmic systems that provide us with knowledge.
