Google Search Results?

Google Search Results? A reader asks…

I’ve noticed recently that when I search for something using Google, the results page now gives me what looks like an answer to my search terms before it lists websites that have information on them. Is this AI and should I give it serious consideration, or scroll down to actual websites for information?

Yes it is an AI overview that examined your search terms and came up with an answer for you, using “generative AI”. Is it accurate? Maybe, maybe not. Google has been training Gemini, its artificial intelligence Large Language Model, and has been field-testing it on users for some time now. Basically, Google has scraped a lot of content from websites and uses that information to hopefully get you a better answer to your search terms or question.

Unfortunately, the internet has plenty of fake, false, misleading and downright criminal websites that push inaccurate information, outright lies, and fantastical imaginings. Gemini may not be able to tell the good stuff from the bad. So for now, I wouldn’t blindly trust the Search Labs | AI Overview section of your search results. Similary, don’t just take the items that show up below that as gospel either. Gemini and Google search results are the start of your research, not the end. Everything you see on the internet should be verified before you depend on it – even this website!

As a content creator, I do take issue with AI scraping my content and then presenting it without giving me credit. But, my information is educational in nature and I’m not in it for the money (really!). So the loss of some advertising revenue doesn’t bother me as much as other folks out there creating content. To me, the important thing is for you to get the answer you need – the right answer. I don’t think that AI is quite ready for mass adoption, there are still too many mistakes and inaccuracies.

When you think about what Google Search is doing now, it’s simply curating information it finds on the internet for you – similar to what people like myself do. The difference is that Gemini relies on algorithms and training to get you answers, and it lacks a dimension of curating information that I don’t believe matches (much less exceeds) that of a human with both expertise and experience. I do think we’ll eventually get there, but we still have a long ways to go. Just my .02, of course.

So for now, my recommendation is to read through the AI overview, then continue on to look at websites for the answer to your question. Use your own brain, experience and insight to discern truth from fiction. If you lack confidence in your own ability, find another human who you trust and who has the knowledge and capability to get you the right answer to your question.