What is generative AI in Search?
Google Search Generative Experience, or SGE for short, is a new type of search engine which uses generative AI technologies to provide the best answer to a user’s search question.
Google describes this as a new step in “Supercharging Search With Generative AI.” Although it is very much in its experimental stages, and currently only available in a number of limited countries, the introduction of SGE could set a new standard in the way in which users consume content across the web.
How does SGE work?
Those with early access to SGE will see a new searching experience across Google. To check if you have access, you can visit here.
This new way of searching means users will quickly get a snapshot overview of a search topic without having to navigate individual web pages for the answers themselves.
The benefits of this means Google’s integrated generative AI technology provides an easy-to-understand overview of a user’s search query, streamlining the process and making it easier for users to get the answers they’re looking for.
An example of how SGE works
Let’s start with a question like “What is SEO?” with Google SGE. Rather than presenting a selection of relevant pages for you to scan through, SGE will now go one step further and do all the heavy lifting with its integrated search results page, providing a user with this overview at the top.
Section 1 is an AI-powered snapshot that helps a user quickly get an overview on a topic.
If you want to dig deeper, section 2 will show you links to three relevant pieces of content to expand your overview of a topic.
Under the snapshot, Google also presents section 3 – suggested follow up questions which take the user into conversation mode. Here, you can refine what you are looking for or explore a new direction without restating context.
Overall, users can now navigate without clicking a single webpage. Sounds great right? But not if you are not ranking on the list for key search terms.
At this stage, Google itself is still keen to learn the impacts of the new tool as part of its AI Principles. But based on recent algorithms, it is likely that Google will continue to shine the spotlight on content that is rich in quality and educational value.
With no one quite sure when SGE will be rolled out more widely, now is the time to get ahead.
How to optimise for generative AI
At the time of writing this blog, SGE is still in its experimental stage. Our understanding is that Google will likely keep developing and testing how it works before an official global rollout. However, there are basics that all B2B marketers should already be doing to get ahead of the curve.
SEO A fundamental process for all content writing is making sure you’re developing rich, quality, fully SEO-optimised organic content for your website.
Backlinks to your website Make sure you’re working to increase the backlinks to your website from trusted sources.
Website optimisation This includes optimising meta tags, improving page load speed, and enhancing mobile responsiveness to improve search engine visibility. Creating an overall better user experience.
Keyword research and content development Understanding the keywords, you should and want to be ranking for, providing easy to understand content which delivers information quickly to the user.
Social media output In some cases, SGE ranks social media content, so its important to create valuable thought leadership content in-feed to help increase your chances of ranking as a trusted source.
At this early stage, and while our experts test best practices, there’s always more we can be doing to make sure we’re keeping ahead of curves and adapting to changes on platforms; a great way of understanding where your current performance is ranking is through research analysis to create a baseline for improving on.
To learn more about how Proactive PR can help improve your digital presence and SEO rankings, book a meeting with our Marketing Director, Jade Hush, or follow us on LinkedIn.