Google Discover Starts Adding AI Summaries; Could Undercut Publisher Traffic

Google has started rolling out AI summaries to the Discover feed. The tech giant has started referring to the source as 'Generated with AI', which seems threatening to web publishers as it could reduce traffic from Google.

Google Discover Starts Adding AI Summaries

TechCrunch was able to spot the AI summaries on both the iOS and Android apps in the US. According to the screenshots, instead of a headline from a major publication, Google lists multiple news publisher logos in the top left corner for a news story, followed by an AI-generated summary that cites those sources. Google then goes on to write that these summaries are generated using AI, "which can make mistakes."

The feature is not yet rolling out to all news in the Google app. A Google spokesperson also confirmed to the publication that ''this is not a test, but rather a US launch. The feature will be rolling out to iOS and Android in the US, with a focus on trending lifestyle topics like sports and entertainment. Google also noted that the feature will make it easier for people to decide which pages they want to visit.''

In addition to AI summaries, Google is also experimenting with several new ways to present a story that appears in Discover. While not marked as AI-powered, some stories will have a set of bullet points below the headline with similar news.

As mentioned, this feature is currently available in the US. It remains to be seen if Google has any plans to bring it to other countries, which could be a serious issue for web publishers, as AI is playing a key role, with Google AI mode and overviews allowing us to get all the information without having to visit a site.

Via