Google expands AI Overviews in Search to more countries
Earlier this year, Google launched its new Search feature, AI Overviews, for users in the US. Powered by generative AI, it provides quick summaries at the top of search results, helping you quickly understand the key details about a topic. Back then, Google had promised that AI Overviews would expand to more countries, and now the tech giant is delivering on that promise.
A new report reveals that Google is taking its AI-generated search summaries to six new countries, including:
On top of that, AI Overviews will now be available not just in English but also in languages like Hindi and Portuguese.
Google is also adding hyperlinks to the feature, with websites showing up on the right side of the AI-generated answer, just like in Bing. Recently, Microsoft’s search engine rolled out a similar AI-driven feature that puts AI-generated answers front and center, pushing traditional search results to the background.
However, the media industry was not alone in expressing concerns about the AI Overviews. The feature received heavy criticism after screenshots of inaccurate answers spread online, like a pizza recipe that included glue or the claim that eating a rock a day is healthy.
Google admitted to the strange and incorrect overviews and rolled out updates in late May. These changes included restrictions on which queries would show AI answers and limited the use of user-generated content from sites like Reddit as sources.
AI Overviews is a handy tool for getting quick answers to your questions, especially when you are short on time and can't sift through all the search results. So, I think it is great to see this feature becoming more widely available. However, I’d be cautious about relying on it for in-depth information, particularly on sensitive topics like health.
AI Overviews are rolling out to more countries
A new report reveals that Google is taking its AI-generated search summaries to six new countries, including:
- Brazil
- India
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Mexico
- Britain
On top of that, AI Overviews will now be available not just in English but also in languages like Hindi and Portuguese.
Google is also adding hyperlinks to the feature, with websites showing up on the right side of the AI-generated answer, just like in Bing. Recently, Microsoft’s search engine rolled out a similar AI-driven feature that puts AI-generated answers front and center, pushing traditional search results to the background.
But that is not all, as Google is also testing a new update that would include links directly within the text of the overview. This move comes as media outlets fret about missing out on traffic if users skip directly to the summary instead of clicking through to their sites.
AI Overviews in Search brings summaries of search results. | Video credit – Google
AI Overviews is a handy tool for getting quick answers to your questions, especially when you are short on time and can't sift through all the search results. So, I think it is great to see this feature becoming more widely available. However, I’d be cautious about relying on it for in-depth information, particularly on sensitive topics like health.
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