Earlier this month, Google launched AI Overviews – software which uses artificial intelligence to answer people’s questions quickly, skipping the step of scrolling through links.
The new search system quickly made headlines for generating misleading and incorrect answers, a glitch Google says it is taking swift action to remedy.
But this bumpy start will quickly be ironed out, says Irish Times writer Hugh Linehan who wrote this week about the “Googlepocalypse” sweeping the United States.
The introduction of this pilot version of Google’s AI Overviews tool has already “significantly harmed” US web sites’ organic search traffic and ad revenue. These “devastating effects” on businesses both large and small are heading quickly our way, says Linehan.
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So, what is the Googlepocalypse and how will it change how the average person searches the internet?
And will a reliance on AI to answer our questions only further enhance the misinformation plaguing the online world?
Today, on In The News, the devasting effects of Google AI Overviews are on their way to Ireland.
Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.
