AI has the potential to have a huge impact on the future of search, so Google has already taken measures to develop something known as “AI Overview” which could transform the future of search engines.
What are AI Overviews?
AI Overviews are a feature within the search results that provide users with quick and direct answers to their queries. They generate answers by summarising information from many sources on the web, including forums, blogs, and website content. The sources that are summarised are deemed to be the most helpful and are referred to by the overview feature, allowing users to learn more using the summarised sources if they wish.
Cool right?
How will it transform the future of search?
It is going to be gradual, but it has a lot of potential when it comes to transforming the future of search. If everything goes well, it could help a lot in providing users with a better experience.
Most of the time, users end up searching for a simple answer to a question and are faced with tons of different lengthy articles that they have no interest in reading. We believe Google AI Overviews could have a massive impact on how quickly users can get an answer to their questions.
The current downfalls of AI Overviews…
Just like everything in the world, it isn’t perfect and there has understandably been a lot of criticism regarding it, so let’s discuss a couple of issues that it has been facing recently.
- Inappropriate answers
Unfortunately, some of the answers it has been providing haven’t exactly been appropriate, with it pulling some of its answers from Reddit.
Google recently did a deal with Reddit which since July 2023 has created a huge spike in organic traffic as shown in the graph created by AHREFS.
It seems that Google is prominently featuring Reddit content not only in search results through the discussion and forums SERP feature but also in the AI overviews feature, which has led to some inappropriate answers.
- Outdated information
There is a lot of outdated information swarming the internet as it has been around for a long time now, so we are sure it will come as no surprise that sometimes AI Overviews can pick up and provide inaccurate answers to users.
This is something we are hopeful that over time will get better, but only the future will tell. At this stage anyway, it should be expected as it is only in an experimental period.
Adapting your content strategy for future success
With everything adapting and evolving online for AI, you must not get left behind and should stay up with new features like AI Overviews to ensure you don’t miss out on valuable opportunities for your business.
If the future of search engines is all around AI providing the most accurate and insightful overviews for questions or on a topic, your content marketing strategy needs to change to reflect this.
Here are a couple of tips that you can follow to successfully adapt and succeed with AI shaping the future of search.
- Focus on quality over quantity
You should be doing this anyway, but previously people have used AI to create a large amount of spammy content to increase visibility fast. If you’re still doing this, you are just going to fail. Create 2 pieces of content per month that are well-written rather than 5 rubbish pieces.
- Create valuable information with unique insights
Creating content that is pretty much the same as your competitors is not going to perform well. It is a great idea to create content based on what your competitors have done, but make sure it is UNIQUE and provides new valuable insights rather than just rewording it.
Feeling overwhelmed?
Our team of specialists at DBS Digital can simplify things for you. We’re here to collaborate closely, crafting a tailored content marketing strategy that aligns with your business goals and incorporates the latest digital trends and tactics. Additionally, our SEO services are geared towards enhancing your visibility and impact in search engine results. Contact us today to find out how we can propel your digital success forward.
