Google will start showing AI-powered search results to users who haven’t opted in

If you’re in the US, you may see a new shaded section at the top of Google search results with a summary that answers your query, along with links to more information. This section, generated by Google’s generative AI technology, was only displayed if you selected Search Generative Experience (SGE) in the Search Labs platform. Now, according to Land of the search engine, Google began adding the experience to “a subset of queries, to a small percentage of US search traffic.” And that’s why you might get Google’s AI-generated experimental section even if you haven’t turned it on.

The company unveiled SGE at its I/O developer conference last May, shortly after opening access to its ChatGPT competitor Bard, now called Gemini. By November, it had rolled out the feature in 120 countries with more languages ​​than English, but it still remained on. Land of the search engine says Google will start showing you the experience even if you haven’t opted in, if you’re searching for complex queries or if it thinks you could benefit from getting information from multiple websites. “How to leave marks on painted walls” is obviously one example.

Google told the publication that for these tests it will only show AI reviews if it has confidence that they will show information better than what search results can surface. Apparently, the company is running these tests because it wants to get feedback from more people, specifically those who haven’t opted to enable the feature. In this way, one can have a better idea of ​​how generative AI can serve those who may not be technically savvy, or those who could care less about generative AI.