Google has often been bristling by the involvement that its obsession with research on AI harms web traffic, and research of Liz Reid has now written a blog article on the subject. According to Reid, clicks do not drop, AI conducts more research and everything is fine on the internet. But despite the optimistic tone, the post continues to provide real data to save these complaints.
This declaration resembles a direct response to a recent analysis of the Pew Research Center which has shown research with IA previews has led to lower click rates. Google opposed the conclusions and the methodology of this study, and the new blog is expanding its justification.
The claim of the banner in this article is that Google sends no less clicks on websites. According to Reid, the “total volume of organic clicks” has remained “relatively stable from year to year”. Meanwhile, Google sees more research on its side, which is the most important measure for the company. Google’s blog also notes (fairly) that the web is incredibly large, and it is common for trends to change.
Google apparently considers IA’s overviews as an evolution of what it has done in the past with scores of knowledge graphics or sports. Reid says that these features have not reduced clicks either. In fact, Google sees better quality clicks in research results, which it identifies as people clicking on links without immediately backing down. However, the company provides no figures, which undermines the argument.
Unequal advantages
Google’s meaning is partly concentrated when Reid discusses certain general trends that the company has seen. She says that research users are looking for more and more “authentic voices and first -hand prospects”, which looks like code for “Reddit”. Google has teamed up with Reddit at the beginning of 2024, having access to its wealth of authentic voices (except when they hang out) for the formation of AI, and you must be blind not to notice how Google has made more and more overfact Reddit links in the research results since.
