Google's new search results feature, AI overviews, is set to take over the dominant search engine shortly, but its early US implementation is reportedly causing users to get confusing and even false information.

Google's new search function, AI Overviews, or "Search Generative Experience," uses its internal LLM (long language models) to summarize web information.

"AI Overviews" are reportedly designed to show up just when Google's algorithm decides it will be the fastest and most efficient approach to draw in a user. This is most likely to occur while someone is thinking, planning, or debating complex topics.

As this feature seems great in theory, Google's AI integration has a few quality drawbacks. First, it occasionally displays inaccurate information and causes a short delay as it creates the answer.

For instance, when people asked Google AI Overviews how to pass kidney stones quickly, the response was to consume two quarts of urine.

Google just started distributing AI Overviews to all Americans, regardless of their desire, after first releasing them as an optional Search Labs experiment. For better or for worse, additional nations will follow shortly.

According to Google, AI Overviews encourage users to use Search more and are happier with the results they get. However, based on reports that numerous questions about turning off the function in the Google support forum, it does not appear that this is the case.

Early criticism of Google AI Overviews has been unfavorable. Discussions on Google forums indicate that users have found the function needless and frequently deceptive.

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News Publishers on AI Overviews

AI Overviews continue to be criticized. Recently, news publishers even slammed the new feature due to content monetization worries. 

News/Media Alliance CEO Danielle Coffey allegedly told CNN that the new feature would be bad for their business, giving even less motivation to click through so that news publishers could monetize their material as Google tried to accommodate user expectations further. 

According to Coffey, the minimal traffic they already receive will be significantly decreased.

Furthermore, Coffey's group, which represents over 2,000 news publishers, has adopted a strong stance against AI developers using journalism because a dominant search engine is consolidating its market dominance.

With an end product that directly competes with news content and uses their content as fuel, they claim they must once again adhere to Google's restrictions.

Disabling AI Overviews

Now that it is out of Search Labs, there is sadly no way to disable it, and Google has swiftly closed support threads for numerous users who have asked questions on how to do so.

There is a workaround, however, as Bleeping Computer states that by indicating the URL {google:baseURL}/search?udm=14&q=%s as a shortcut site search link, users can deactivate AI overviews, visit their article for the complete guide. 

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(Photo: Tech Times)