What is SGE?
In May 2023, Google announced its latest addition, “Search Generative Experience”, a generative AI in the search results. The idea is that when you enter your search terms, you'll be presented with a so-called “AI link card” above the traditional search results.
Here you get an in-depth answer to exactly the query you typed in. Google hopes this will make search more personal and tailored to the user.
As with ChatGPT, it's like having a helpful assistant that doesn't just give you a list of links, but actually tries to understand what you're really looking for. The only difference is that Google's SGE will work directly in the search results.
So when you want to make more complex searches, you don't need to split them into several parts and then pull the information together to work out the answer yourself. SGE will give you the answer to your exact search intent.
SGE was announced without a fixed launch date, but on 14 May 2024 Google dropped the bomb with the official rollout of the technology in the US. Selected users in the US have been able to test and give feedback on the technology since 25 May 2023, and the technology is expected to reach Denmark during 2024.
Google's conversation starter
Google Search Generative Experience (SGE) is a revolutionary development in search technology. This approach lets users ask follow-up questions, creating a more conversational and interactive search experience. Unlike traditional search methods, which mainly focus on ranking results based on keywords, SGE can dig deeper into users' queries. This adds a new dimension to gathering information, letting users explore topics more thoroughly and get more relevant and personal answers than ever before.
Google itself gives the example of the search “What's better for a family with kids under 3 and a dog, Bryce Canyon or arches?”. Below you can see the AI-generated answer:
See also Google's own video about SGE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVsiusLQy5Q
Why is SGE coming?
It's not that Google was late to the AI wave, but they've been overtaken on the inside by ChatGPT, so they've now ramped up their development of generative AI. As a result, the development of SGE has been accelerated quite a bit.
Google itself says SGE aims to improve the search experience, so you can understand a topic more easily, explore new perspectives and generally get things done faster.
This development represents a shift towards more dynamic and personal search results, in response to the market's changing expectations and the internal competition within search technology.
What about the traditional search results?
Even with the introduction of SGE, the traditional blue search results will remain an integral part of Google's search engine. The search results will be supplemented, but not replaced, by AI-generated answers. Your AI link cards will appear at the top of the page, which pushes the traditional search results and ads further down. So it remains important to optimise content for both traditional and AI-driven search features.
It's also worth mentioning that when users run a Google search and receive an AI-generated answer, Google will highlight the sources used in the answer. These sources are links to the relevant websites, giving users the option to visit the pages that contributed the information directly. This means your website can now be highlighted as a source in an AI-generated answer, in addition to being a standalone search result.
What changes could SGE bring?
The introduction of SGE in Google Search will probably bring significant changes for both users and businesses. For users, it means more intuitive and conversational search results, which can improve their experience and efficiency when searching for information.
For businesses and SEO professionals, it means a possible change in content and search engine optimisation strategies. The new approach will require a deeper understanding of how AI-generated answers interact with traditional search results, and how best to optimise content for both formats.
Google's E-E-A-T guidelines become even more relevant with the introduction of SGE, as this technology underlines the need for trustworthy, quality-focused content. With SGE's ability to generate answers from a wide range of sources, websites that demonstrate a high level of expertise, experience, authoritativeness and trustworthiness are likely to be prioritised.
This requires content that isn't just SEO-optimised, but also based on in-depth knowledge and credible sources, to ensure visibility in the search engine's new AI-driven format. This applies especially to YMYL websites dealing with topics such as users' health, finances or life situation.
How do AI Overviews affect SEO?
There's been something close to an outcry in the SEO industry ever since Google first announced the expected arrival of SGE.
The worst-case scenario has been that SGE makes SEO redundant, partly because an AI-generated search experience makes the results less predictable, and because click-through rates will plummet as users get answers directly in the search results, so businesses will no longer allocate marketing budgets to SEO, since the discipline won't deliver website traffic anyway.
The main argument for the death of SEO, however, has been that the search results will now be so packed with AI results that the classic blue links will drop so far below the fold that they become a no man's land where nobody ever clicks.
You can almost picture the tragicomic scene: row upon row of unemployed SEO specialists desperately holding up home-made signs at arm's length, decorated in clumsy lettering: “Will do SEO for money!”
It probably won't get quite that bad.
For a start, the search results have long been dominated by more than the classic blue links. For one thing, advertising is by far Google's biggest source of revenue, so the sponsored Google Ads and Google Shopping results have often been found above the fold in the search results.
In addition, featured snippets (searches where selected excerpts of text matching a search are shown at the top of the results) have only become more frequent over the last few years, and the top of the search results is also full of image carousels (try searching for a recipe) and the Google 3-Pack (especially for local searches).
Below the fold results have been a given for SEO people for a long time.
Not least, it's important to remember that AI Overviews will most likely be shown mainly for informational searches. Commercial searches will probably be less affected by AI-generated results.
What you need to be aware of
- Focus on quality over quantity:
Prioritising in-depth, well-researched and trustworthy content. - User intent and relevance:
Greater emphasis on content that matches user intent and contextual relevance. - Expertise and authority:
The importance of coming across as an expert and authority in your field. - Strong online presence:
The need for a solid presence across different platforms, including social media and third-party sites. - Improved user experience:
Websites need to be intuitive and fast to ensure a good user experience. - The importance of external links and recommendations:
Focus on how a business's reputation is reflected online, including reviews and content on third-party websites. - Use of structured data:
Using schema markup and structured data to improve visibility and help search engines' AI understand your content.
The future of SEO?
The SEO of the future will probably focus even more on users' behaviour and intentions, changing the traditional approach to search engine optimisation. Technological advances, especially in artificial intelligence and machine learning, will give search engines like Google a better ability to understand and interpret users' intentions and the context behind search queries.
This will mean that SEO is no longer just about optimising for specific keywords, but also about creating content that precisely addresses users' needs and questions.
Amplify is your partner in the SEO of the future
When SGE officially launches, the rules of SEO will probably be rewritten. Our team of SEO specialists is dedicated to helping you make the most of the countless opportunities that SGE and the SEO of the future offer. From optimising your content to developing strategies that resonate with both AI and your target audiences, Amplify is your SEO agency for success in the digital world.
