Google to summarize search results from news articles via generative AI
Christopher Hutton
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Google will begin experimenting with a new generative artificial intelligence bot that can translate entire search results into short summaries despite resistance from news publishers.
The search engine announced on Tuesday that it was adding a new feature that will use a ChatGPT-esque bot to translate a user’s search results into a summary for expedited consumption. This new feature will be available to select users who opt into Google’s “Search Labs” program, where new features are often tested. The new feature will be initially available in the Google app on iOS and Android on Tuesday and will be added to Chrome in the “days ahead.”
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“Our aim is to test how generative A.I. can help you navigate information online and get to the core of what you’re looking for even faster,” Google said in a blog post.
The feature could affect reading rates or news consumption since it would allow users access to article content without requiring them to click on the page. It will not be able to access content placed behind a paywall, and publishers will have to designate to Google which pages are accessible and which are not.
Google is also adding several other features to the search engine experience, including allowing users to hover over certain technical words in a science- or economics-related search for a definition and presenting a summary of coding information.
Some publishers are unhappy about Google training a chatbot on their news articles for free. The New York Times changed its terms of service to bar companies from training their A.I. on its content.
Google is also testing a product that uses A.I. to produce news articles for major outlets such as the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.
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Google alluded to the A.I. bot during its developer conference, Google I/O, in May and has been adding improvements to the new feature since then.
User feedback “has been very positive so far,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai said during Google’s latest earnings call, and that “over time, this will just be how Search works.”