Google has served “billions of queries” with its generative AI features and plans to “further expand the types of queries we can serve our users.” So says Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet/Google, speaking during Alphabet’s Q1 2024 earnings call.
AI overviews, which Google introduced in the U.S. in late March and the U.K. earlier this month for a small portion of queries, are also driving search usage, according to Pichai:
“Based on our testing, we’re encouraged that we’re seeing increased search usage among people using the new AI overviews, as well as increased user satisfaction with the results.”
Later, during the Q&A portion, Pichai was asked about user behavior and engagement in SGE. Pichai said:
“We see an increase in commitment, but I see that as something that will develop over time. But if you were to step back at this point, there were a lot of questions last year and we always felt confident and comfortable that we could improve the user experience.” People ask if these things would be expensive to serve, and we’re very confident that we can handle the cost of serving those queries. People were worried about latency. When I look at the progress we’ve made in latency and efficiency, we feel comfortable.” “There are questions about monetization. And based on the testing we’ve done so far, I’m comfortable and confident that we’ll be able to handle the monetization transition here as well. It will play out over time, but I think we are well positioned.”
Why we care All signs continue to point to Google continuing its slow evolution toward a generative search experience. I’m skeptical about the increase in user satisfaction, given how unimpressive the product AI and SGE still are. But I’m not the average Google user, and this was an earnings call, where Pichai has mastered the art of using a lot of words to say a lot of nothing.
SGE will continue to evolve in 2024. During the Q&A portion, Pichai was asked to explain what types of queries or scenarios generative AI works best for so far. Pichai kept it vague:
“At SGE and Search … we’re seeing early confirmation of our thesis that this will expand the universe of queries where we can really give people a mix of real answers tied to web sources and bring a variety of perspectives, all in an innovative way. And we’ve been rolling out general AI analytics in the US and the UK, trying to primarily address queries, which are more complex, where we think SGE will clearly improve the experience.” “We’ve already served billions of queries and it seems to be spread across categories. But we’re still continuing our testing… In those areas we’re metric-driven. … But I’m optimistic that it clearly improves the user experience, users tell us, and we see it in our metrics, and we’ll continue to evolve throughout this year.”
Later, a question followed that sought more color around AI changing Google’s search volume or use cases. Pichai responded with a non-answer about Google’s deep and positive path:
“We see this moment as a positive moment for Search. And I think it allows us to evolve our product in a profound way. And Search is a unique experience. People come and get there, whether you want answers, if you want to explore more, if you want to get perspectives from all over the web and be able to do that through the breadth and depth of everything they’re looking for and the innovation you’re going to need to sustain that, I think that’s what we’ve been building for a long time.” And so I think we’re set up extraordinarily well, especially given the innovation path we’re on. And overall, I see this moment as a positive moment.”
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About the author
Danny Goodwin has been the editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land & Search Marketing Expo – SMX since 2022. He joined Search Engine Land in 2022 as a senior editor. In addition to reporting on the latest search marketing news, he manages Search Engine Land’s Subject Matter Expert (SME) program. Also helps schedule US SMX events.
Goodwin has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in search and digital marketing since 2007. He was previously executive editor of Search Engine Journal (2017-2022), editor-in-chief of Momentology (2014-2016), and editor from Search. Engine Watch (from 2007 to 2014). He has spoken at numerous major search conferences and virtual events, and has brought his expertise to bear in a wide range of publications and podcasts.
