Google’s SGE launch — Jordan Koene // Previsible

Jordan Koene, Co-Founder and CEO of PreVisible.io, talks about what’s happening in SEO news. In May, Google announced SGE, which adds generative AI capabilities to Google Search results. Though Google has been using artificial intelligence for a long time, SGE’s launch marked a significant step towards incorporating generative AI capabilities directly into Google Search results. Today, Jordan discusses Google’s SGE launch.
About the speaker

Jordan Koene

previsible.io

 - previsible.io

Jordan is CEO and Co-Founder of Previsible.io

Show Notes

  • 01:58
    An overview of Googles search generative experience (SGE)
    SGE was announced by Google in May this year. It is a playground where Google is testing how generative AI can provide information and context to users within the search results.
  • 02:50
    How SGE differs from Googles previous use of AI
    Google has long been leveraging AI in research results in terms of the answer box and the People Also Ask box. The main distinction is that Google is now labeling and highlighting the AI-generated sections, and incorporating images and references.
  • 04:13
    Googles approach to generative AI vs competitors
    Google is increasingly emphasizing the integration of AI across its products and services, aiming to make search and its suite of tools more useful with AI. Meanwhile, the competition is focused on creating awareness and encouraging user adoption of their solutions.
  • 06:16
    Googles SGE drawbacks
    Currently, SGE responses dont provide as much guidance and help as the answer box that shows up in the search results today. Essentially, SGE fails to accurately understand what users want to learn or grasp from their search, resulting in less relevant and meaningful responses.
  • 08:26
    Challenges of generative AI in search results
    Google's focus with SGE is understanding how generative responses can add more value to the user experience than a list of links. However, generative AI's emphasis on direct responses limits the creative exploration and refinement found in traditional search engine result pages.
  • 09:33
    Assessing Google's SGE launch
    Google's SGE has been criticized for lacking constraints, as well as the absence of innovative features. Additionally, the prominent highlighting of the AI element and its design detract from the user experience and doesnt encourage continued use.
  • 12:29
    The benefits of SGE
    SGE is able to quickly retrieve specific information, such as recipes or facts that may not be featured in answer boxes. SGE is also useful for providing specific outputs similar to generative AI models like Bard and ChatGPT, but otherwise provides a lot of fillers.
  • 13:23
    How Google can improve its SGE experience
    To enhance the SGE experience, Google can encourage users to refine their searches earlier, and limit the amount of space dedicated to generative AI responses. They can also provide references to content already ranking to encourage user discovery and exploration.

Quotes

  • "Google's been using AI for a long time. How do you think the answer box has happened? How do you think Google selects the questions in People Also Ask?" -Jordan Koene, CEO, PreVisible

  • "Google is becoming very pragmatic about their products being connected to AI. The competition is focused on the concept of developing a real roadmap towards awareness." -Jordan Koene, CEO, PreVisible

  • "People want a search result page because it's a set of results they can choose and explore from. It's hard to do that with generative AI because generative AI is perpetually trying to create a response." -Jordan Koene, CEO, PreVisible

  • "I don't think that there's a ton of uniqueness in terms of what Google has deployed in SGE." -Jordan Koene, CEO, PreVisible

  • "One of the benefits of SGE is the fact that it can pull information out much faster for users." -Jordan Koene, CEO, PreVisible

About the speaker

Jordan Koene

previsible.io

 - previsible.io

Jordan is CEO and Co-Founder of Previsible.io

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