What is Google SGE: On May 10th, Google announced their plans to add AI-generated answers to their search engine results.
The AI-powered snapshots will appear at the top of the search result, providing users with a quick answer to their query.
However, this could potentially hurt website owners as users may not need to click on websites anymore.
In this article, we’ll go over the details of Google’s AI integration (Google SGE) and what it means for website owners.
What is Google SGE?
SGE stands for Search Generative Experience, which is Google’s AI integration (Google SGE) into their search engine results.
According to Google, SGE is an early step in transforming the search experience with generative AI. Here are some of the features that SGE will entail:
- AI-powered snapshots: These will appear at the top of the search result and will provide users with a quick answer to their query.
- Vertical experiences: This will provide users with a list of products that fit their query, complete with images, reviews, descriptions, and current pricing.
- Conversational mode: This will allow users to refine their search with simple follow-up questions.
What Does This Mean for Website Owners?
Website owners may be concerned about the potential loss of traffic due to the AI-powered snapshots (Google SGE).
However, Google has stated that websites will still receive plenty of traffic. The AI snapshots are just one part of the search result, and users may still need to click on websites for more information.
Additionally, Google knows that they need to keep feeding websites traffic for three main reasons:
- To train the AI: If websites stop producing content, then the AI will not have anything to learn from.
- To provide authentic content: People prefer to read content written by humans, and a thriving web is essential to that.
- To make money: Google makes a significant portion of its annual revenue from search result ads and the Google Display Network. Websites will continue to receive traffic as businesses pay to put their websites at the top of Google.
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Google’s Approach to AI and Its Impact on SEO
Google, the world’s leading search engine, is aware of the limitations of large language models, such as misinterpretations, hallucinations, and bias.
However, despite these limitations, AI is slowly but surely replacing human-generated content in search results.
As a result, websites are likely to lose some traffic, but Google’s search guidance documentation about AI-generated content states that they reward high-quality content, regardless of how it’s produced.
According to a study by Atreus, when a featured snippet is present, the website in the first position loses about 6.4% of its clicks.
While this may seem concerning, the fact that Google rewards high-quality content, regardless of its source, is an opportunity for SEO professionals to use AI to 10x their content production and increase traffic.
Many SEO professionals have already taken advantage of this opportunity, including the author, who has a website that generates 97,000 monthly sessions and makes $20,000 per month using server AI to handle 90% of the content writing process.
This includes article outline, research, fact-checking, and SEO optimization. The author recommends using Surfer AI, which is currently in beta but offers launch access at surferseo.com/ai.
Conclusion
While Google’s AI integration (Google SGE) may change the search experience, website owners need not worry too much.
Websites will still receive traffic, and users may still need to click on websites for more information.
Additionally, people prefer to read content written by humans, and Google knows this. So, website owners should continue to produce quality content for their audience.