This excerpt is from “SEO in the Gemini Era” by Marie Haynes ©2024 and is reprinted with permission from Marie Haynes Consulting Inc.
There are AI-related changes on the way that all SEOs should know about: Search Generative Experience (SGE) has now been renamed to AI Overviews, and Gemini is already changing the way people get information.
And if we believe Google DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis, within the next decade Google will achieve its goal of building artificial general intelligence (AGI).
I believe in Demis and I’m excited.
First, let’s talk about some immediate changes in the search landscape that all website owners should be aware of.
This is a general overview: many of these features and what’s important to know about them are changing rapidly; much of this section may be out of date by the time you read this book.
Overview of Google’s search generation experience/AI
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has said that SGE is the future of search.
Image provided by the author, July 2024SGE started as an opt-in experiment at labs.google.com and is now available in search under a new name, AI Overviews, in some countries. SGE may include several different components, or a combination of them, including:
AI-generated answers that appear to be cobbled together from multiple websites like a featured snippet.
Website Carousel
I call these “helpful content carousels” because they typically contain the types of content we’ve covered in the book. I’ve since heard them called “link cards.”
(I prefer carousels of useful content!)
Image provided by the author, July 2024These carousels appear not only in regular searches, but also in Google Assistant responses. You might see similar carousels sprinkled throughout searches, labeled “Perspectives,” “Forum Discussions,” and so on.
Image provided by the author, July 2024
Image provided by the author, July 2024These features will continue to evolve over time. With every search, Google is learning whether AI summaries are helpful to you. We’re continually learning how to improve.
Further reading:
Google Gemini (formerly Bard)
Google’s product names are confusing. You may have noticed in this book that we sometimes call it Bard and sometimes Gemini. This is because at the beginning of 2024, Bard’s name was changed to Gemini.
Gemini is Also The name of the language model behind the system. Gemini is essentially Google’s all about AI.
Gemini the chatbot is not a search engine, but people will use it as one. It’s a way to get information, and the more it improves, the more useful it will be.
Gemini will be the Google Assistant, which will pop up on top of other apps on most phones and be available with a quick touch or voice command.
It is continually being improved through a process called reinforcement learning. If you’ve used Bard a few times and given up because you found it useless, we recommend giving Gemini a try.
Ideally, it’s worth signing up for Gemini Advanced, the most advanced version of Gemini available to the public. At the time of writing, Google is offering a two-month trial.
I’ve been very impressed with the improvements in the short time since Bard upgraded to Gemini. It feels like it gets better every day.
In February 2024, Google quietly announced an upgrade to Gemini. Gemini 1.5 This leads to a completely new architecture based on what we call the Mixture of Experts model.
While this type of model is not new, DeepMind has stated that the type of MoE model they are using in Gemini is an entirely new version of MoE. The changes made to Gemini allow: Significantly It will be more efficient, more accurate, and you’ll have a better understanding of the data you use to train it.
Gemini 1.5 delivers significant improvements to Google’s AI capabilities across the board, laying the framework for the company to continue to rapidly improve in the future..
To learn more about Gemini, the following links may be useful:
If you read one thing about Gemini, make it this:
Google’s blog post “Assistant by Bard: A step towards a more personal assistant”
I truly believe Gemini is the way of the future, it may not seem that way if you have used it a few times and encountered hallucinations and made-up answers.
After reading all of the above, I hope you agree with me and realize that Gemini is going to be the future of how we interact with information online.
When this happens, many things will change in the world.
How? It’s hard to predict. I think it will affect a lot of people, just like it did me. The more you use the LLM, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more you know. And you can brainstorm those ideas on Gemini and ChatGPT.
This has helped me understand a lot about how search works and has enabled me to improve at a faster pace in almost every skill I do at work. The more I do this, the more I learn how to learn and how to make the most of the LLM tools available to me.
People who are good at what they do will become even better with the help of AI, and those who know how to use AI will start to have a huge advantage over those who don’t.
Imagine what it would be like to live in the year 2024 and not use a cell phone. Sure, you could survive, but you would be at a disadvantage compared to people who use technology.
I believe that this would put our civilization at a dangerous rift. I have great hopes for those at the forefront of research into how to use AI to improve the world. But what about those who are determined to avoid it at all costs?
The good news is that Google’s CEO says this shift in how we search is going to happen. Over the next 10 years. Hopefully there will be time to adjust.
Business Integration
Google’s earnings call noted that one of Gemini’s strengths is business integration, and while that remains to be seen, it should ultimately make it increasingly easy for companies to not only integrate but also monetize Google’s AI capabilities.
Also keep an eye on how AI will change Google Ads. Even though this book isn’t about advertising, I see a lot of future opportunities here.
Here’s what I think might happen: A searcher is looking for information about a recent drop in traffic. When the searcher talks to Gemini, Gemini gives them general advice on what they should consider and recommends some websites for them to read next.
Google says,Talk to Marie Haynes’ AI Assistant” This is an ad that connects searchers to a chatbot on my site.
This chatbot will be built on what I’ve written recently, and it will motivate me to keep creating good and helpful content to make this chatbot useful.
I could charge a fee for this chatbot, or I could offer it for free and have the chatbot recommend my resources and services when appropriate.
In that case, Google would likely insert my chatbot directly into the search results.
This will accelerate even more as companies start to make real money from Google’s AI.
Note
[1] From Chatbots to AGI with Demis Hassabis | EP 71 Hardfork Podcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwUARJeeplA
[2] Google’s vision for search in 2023 and beyond – analysis of the 2023 earnings call. Marie Haynes. https://www.mariehaynes.com/googles-vision-for-search-in-2023-and-beyond-analysis-of-the-q2-2023-earnings-call/
[3] Gemini Advanced. https://gemini.google.com/advanced
To read the book in its entirety, SEJ readers can purchase Marie’s book, workbook, and course bundle at a 20% discount. The discount will be applied automatically when you click the following link:
Additional resources:
Featured Image: Artemis Diana/Shutterstock
