About This Episode
With the introduction of its AI overview feature, Google is hoping to change the search landscape and keep its dominance as the top player in the game.
For years we’ve seen the traditional search results (ads, followed by organic links) change, with featured snippets, YouTube videos, and Google Shopping results sometimes getting top billing. This new feature marks another step in that direction. Above everything else, you’ll see an AI-generated answer to your question that’s about a paragraph long, including links to the source material Google may have pulled the information from.
Mandy York, IMPACT content and video expert explains, “This update that’s called the AI overview, it’s at the very top of the page. So now this is like the first thing that you see. It’s over the YouTube videos. It’s over everything.”
The new AI features present both challenges and opportunities for businesses looking to drive organic traffic to their sites. Mandy points out that Google’s AI tends to favor concise, clear answers from a single source, similar to the old featured snippets, so producing helpful content is likely still the best strategy.
However, the AI has thus far proved unreliable, which makes it hard to predict for businesses and hard to trust for users. The challenge lies in the AI’s occasional reliance on unreliable sources, such as Reddit. “What it doesn’t get is that Reddit is not exactly a scholarly resource… It’s a patently bad place to get information” Mandy says.
Whether this AI overview actually pulls good information or not, businesses are worried about what it means for their own traffic.
Mandy suggests writing content that is straightforward, conversational, and easy to understand. “Explain things like you’re talking to an actual customer that is standing in front of you,” she advises. This approach aligns with the They Ask, You Answer framework, focusing on building trust through clear and helpful content.
Even with so much still unknown about the future of search, marketers should stay true to their values. Focus on providing genuine value to your customers, while staying informed on new changes in tech. This way, businesses can navigate this new AI landscape.
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Mandy York combines her experience as an award-winning educator and thriving business owner to help others take creative and actionable steps toward their content and video marketing goals.
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