Ranking on Google has always been an extremely difficult task for new websites, as the top positions are typically occupied by sponsored posts. Google’s main source of revenue comes from advertising, so it’s not surprising that they are exploring ways to profit from their AI-powered search engines. The search engine is already considering generating revenue through AI-written responses to search queries.

For example, when a user asks about factors to consider when buying a CPU, the generative AI not only answers the query but also suggests CPUs along with marketplace ratings. It wouldn’t be costly for a company like Google to earn money from marketplaces through affiliate marketing, as tech blogs have been doing this for years.

However, there is one issue: the articles generated by the AI-based search engine are of lower quality and merely imitations of the originals.

Currently available in limited beta testing, Google’s new Search Generative Experience (SGE) transforms the site from being a search engine that provides links to the best content into a publication that offers its own mini-articles. Instead of hiring expert writers for this task, Google employs an AI that analyzes data from human-authored content and produces advice that lacks expertise or authority.

However, as tech experts have pointed out, the AI-generated write-up is not the best one to follow. When following the generic write-up, the search engine presents a list of outdated processors that are no longer among the best CPUs available today. The top choice is a Ryzen 7 5800X3D, which hasn’t been the top processor for a year, and there’s also a link to a Core i5-10400, which is three generations old. This is not helpful advice.

Similarly, when a user searches for “hiking backpacks for kids” on the new version of Google, the AI could respond with an ad for a particular backpack, along with tips for choosing the best backpack for a child, according to Google.

Jerry Dischler, vice president and general manager of ads, mentioned in an interview that this new approach to interacting with Google search is simpler and more helpful. He believes it will lead to new commercial opportunities and deliver a delightful user experience.

Paid is new Organic

Amazon is known as a marketplace where merchants can come and sell their products. However, as soon as a product starts performing well on the platform, Amazon replicates it and sells it under the brand name ‘Amazon Basics.’ 

Google is now planning to follow a similar path. It used to be recognized as one of the best search engines, delivering accurate results with incredible speed. However, Google has now launched its own generative AI-based search engine, where users can find Google’s AI-written content at the top of the result page, followed by sponsored and organic posts.

Before Microsoft introduced the idea of a generative AI-based chatbot producing search results, even Google believed that expertise should be the sole metric for ranking. Just a few months ago, the search engine revealed that it would use E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, Trust) to determine content rankings. In other words, content from experienced authors with subject matter expertise should rise to the top, while unreliable advice from content farmers without a proven track record should fall to the bottom.

However, it seems that Google has found a way to generate extra revenue from the new generative AI-backed search engine. It is suspected that in the future, when concerns are raised about the AI picking up illegitimate sources to generate answers (as it is doing currently), Google may offer a solution where websites pay Google when their website is selected to generate an answer.