Google’s AI Overviews feature has taken another hit, now appearing for fewer searches than before, according to a report. AI Overviews, which was called Search Generative Experience (SGE) during its beta testing phase, was formally introduced at Google’s I/O 2024 event. The feature is currently only publicly available in the US and allows users to get a snapshot of AI-curated search information at the top of the results page. However, following incidents of incorrect answers, the tech giant reportedly rolled back the feature in June. It appears the feature has now been scaled back further.
Google AI overview visibility reportedly reduced
With data from the SEO platform for businesses BrightEdge, a report SearchEngineLand found that AI Overviews were now appearing for just seven percent of total searches on Google. The data was gathered by tracking the number of times the feature appeared in the month of June.
According to the report, there was a drop from 11 percent to 7 percent last month. Three sectors — education, entertainment and e-commerce — reportedly saw the biggest drop in the visibility of the feature. Entertainment queries are said to have dropped from 14 percent to almost zero percent. Education and e-commerce saw a drop from 26 percent to 13 percent and 26 percent to 9 percent, respectively.
Last month, a similar report from BrightEdge highlighted that AI Overviews visibility had dropped to just 15 percent. By comparison, prior to mid-April, when the feature was reportedly scaled back, AI Overviews were appearing for a whopping 75 percent of searches. The report also found that the majority of AI-collected answers were being displayed in a truncated format, showing a collapsed view of the answer.
Shortly after the feature launched in the US, some users began reporting incorrect and bizarre answers to some questions. In one case, an X (formerly known as Twitter) user posted a screenshot of the AI suggesting adding non-toxic glue to sauce when searching for a solution to “making cheese not stick to pizza.”
While Google claims the issue has been fixed and monitoring of the feature has been improved, the visibility of AI feeds is becoming increasingly less.
