Google is currently rolling out links to web pages within its AI-powered search generation experience.
You’ll notice that AI-powered summary answers are marked with the following down arrow icon: When you click on these, Google will show you the relevant web pages used to form that part of your answer.
- “Starting today, when you see an arrow icon next to information in an AI-powered overview, you can click it to view the relevant webpage and visit the site to easily learn more. We are launching first in the US and will be rolling out to Japan and India in the coming weeks.” Said said Hema Budaraju, senior director of product management at Google Search.
what is it like. Here’s an example screenshot of what this feature looks like.
Google also shared a GIF showing how it works.
previous test. Earlier this month, Google began testing links within AI-generated answers within SGE in three different formats. Google paused the test after 16 days, but continuous testing Down arrow card test. Now, Google has decided to adopt the down arrow format with link cards.
Google said it will continue testing various formats.
- “We will continue to test different ways of presenting results and listen to feedback, prioritizing an approach that continues to drive traffic to relevant websites.”
Launched in Japan and India. Google also said SGE will be released in beta in more countries and languages, including Japan and India. Users in Japan will be able to use the Generated AI feature in their local language, while in India SGE will be available in English and Hindi, Google said.
Voice search. Google said SGE will also enable voice search, which “allows users to simply speak their queries and hear the responses instead of typing them, which is popular in both countries.”
advertisement. Ads will continue to appear in dedicated spots in the SGE AI-generated answer interface.
Initial data from SGE. Google also shared general feedback about its “early experiments” with SGE.
- Searchers have a positive experience.
- Ages 18-24 enjoy the SGE experience the most.
- Searchers can enjoy follow-up questions within SGE to further refine and explore their queries.
- Ads can also be helpful, Google says, especially when they’re placed above or below the AI-powered overview.
why do we care? It’s great to see that Google has officially added links to web pages in answers powered by SGE AI. The lack of citations has been frustrating for search marketers, publishers, and searchers in general. Google added that it will continue to “prioritize approaches that continually drive traffic to relevant websites.”