Google unveils 'AI overviews' atop search results
Users of the search engine in the US will now get AI-generated answers first


What happened
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Tuesday that starting this week, people using its iconic search engine in the U.S. will start getting AI-generated answers at the top of the search results, a feature dubbed "AI overviews."
Who said what
"Google will do the searching, the researching, the planning, the brainstorming and so much more," Elizabeth Reid, Google's head of search, said at the company's I/O developer conference. "All you need to do is just ask."
AI overviews is "likely to heighten concerns that web publishers will see less traffic from Google Search," and they "are right to be spooked," The New York Times said. Reid said Google will keep "sending valuable traffic to publishers and creators," but having AI scour the web and summarize its findings risks destroying the mutually beneficial "grand bargain" between Google and the internet: "You give us articles, we give you traffic," clicks and ad revenue.
What next?
Google expects AI overviews to be available to "over a billion people by the end of the year."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
July 5 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include an extrajudicial detainment camp, 'alligator Alcatraz', and tax cuts for billionaires.
-
5 explosively funny cartoons about the 4th of July
Cartoons Artists take on liberty and justice for all, a terrifying firework, and more
-
Jeff in Venice: a "triumph of tackiness"?
In the Spotlight Locals protest as Bezos uses the city as a 'private amusement park' for his wedding celebrations
-
The first AI job cuts are already here
Feature Companies are removing entry-level jobs as AI takes over
-
The god in the machine
Feature An AI model with superhuman intelligence could soon become reality. Should we be worried?
-
AI chatbots are leading some to psychosis
The explainer The technology may be fueling delusions
-
Another Starship blast sets back Musk's Mars hopes
Speed Read Nobody was killed in the explosion, which occurred in south Texas
-
Unreal: A quantum leap in AI video
Feature Google's new Veo 3 is making it harder to distinguish between real videos and AI-generated ones
-
Will 2027 be the year of the AI apocalypse?
In The Spotlight A 'scary and vivid' new forecast predicts that artificial superintelligence is on the horizon
-
College grads are seeking their first jobs. Is AI in the way?
In The Spotlight Unemployment is rising for young professionals
-
Disney, Universal sue AI firm over 'plagiarism'
Speed Read The studios say that Midjourney copied characters from their most famous franchises