You might never need to read another news article with the advent of artificial intelligence capable of summarizing web content on demand. This prospect is unsettling for media moguls as tech giants like Google explore generative AI, a technology that generates new content based on historical data.

Since May, Google has introduced a novel search feature driven by generative AI, following concerns about its role in providing information, especially in the wake of the success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a query-answering chatbot. This product, known as Search Generative Experience (SGE), utilizes AI to produce summaries in response to specific search queries. These summaries are presented prominently on the Google search homepage, accompanied by links for further exploration.

Also Read: Google Blocked Samsung’s Attempt to Expand its Search App Offerings

However, this development has raised apprehensions among publishers, who are grappling with their place in a world where AI could transform how users discover and pay for information. Their concerns encompass potential impacts on web traffic, concerns about proper source attribution in SGE summaries, the accuracy of these summaries, and the demand for compensation for the content that fuels Google and other AI systems, a significant point of contention in the AI field.

Google has introduced a tool called Google-Extended, allowing publishers to opt out of having their content used for AI training, which is seen as a positive gesture, though the extent of potential compensation remains uncertain.

Publishers are worried about a potential decrease in organic traffic due to the design of SGE, with links from traditional search being pushed down the page. There’s also concern that users might avoid clicking on links when SGE summaries provide the information they seek.

While SGE aims to highlight web content, publishers are unsure about how to optimize their content for SGE summaries, as it remains somewhat of a “black box.” Publishers have typically allowed Google to “crawl” their content for traditional search results, but blocking content from being crawled for SGE summaries is less clear.

In summary, the introduction of generative AI in Google’s SGE has sparked concerns among publishers about web traffic, source attribution, content compensation, and potential changes in user behavior. The evolving nature of this technology makes it challenging for publishers to adapt to the changing landscape.