Tue, 29 Jul 2025

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 Google launches new AI search feature in UK

The new tool marks a significant change for the search giant but raises questions for advertisers.

* Google is rolling out a new "AI Mode" in the UK, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate conversational-style answers to search queries.
* Instead of a list of links, AI Mode provides a single answer with fewer direct links to other pages.
* The tool is optional and will be available as a tab and an option within the search box itself.
* Businesses are concerned that people will click less on links in AI-generated responses, potentially undermining their business models.
* Google has not yet finalized how advertising revenue for AI Mode will work or whether firms can pay to be included in the response.
* The tool uses Google's Gemini AI platform and has already been launched in the US and India.
* Experts predict that tools like AI Mode will increasingly incorporate AI, but also raise concerns about accuracy, bias, and environmental impact.
* A recent study found that people only clicked a link once in every 100 searches when there was an AI summary at the top of the page.
* Google argues that the research methodology in this study was flawed, but acknowledges that AI-generated summaries can be inaccurate.
* Organizations such as news outlets are concerned about the impact on their business models and advertising revenue.
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