Google has rolled out AI-generated summaries within its Discover feed, the personalized news section within the Google Search app. These concise overviews replace the traditional headline and publisher logo, mirroring the functionality of AI Overviews in Search results. This move has ignited anxieties within the publishing industry, centered around the diminished visibility of original news sources and potential impacts on traffic.
The AI summaries display an icon indicating the number of sources contributing to the overview, with a ‘More’ option revealing a list of the contributing articles. Google also includes a disclaimer acknowledging the potential for inaccuracies in the AI-generated summaries. Initially, the feature is focused on trending lifestyle content, including sports and entertainment.
Google claims the AI summaries are designed to help users quickly assess the relevance of articles and streamline their content discovery process. However, publishers are concerned that these summaries could drastically reduce website traffic and associated revenue, as users may find the AI-generated overview sufficient and forgo clicking through to the original articles. This shift raises questions about the future of news consumption and the economic viability of online publishing.