Publishers Worry Over Google's New AI Search Tool
2023-10-25
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1Publishing companies are growing increasingly concerned about generative AI, especially a model developed by Google.
2Since May, Google has begun releasing a new form of search in the United States, India, and Japan powered by generative AI.
3The product is called Search Generative Experience, or SGE.
4SGE uses AI to create summaries for some search questions.
5Google says those summaries appear on the top of the Google search homepage, with links to "dig deeper."
6If publishers want to prevent their content from being used by Google's AI to create those summaries, they must use the same tool that would prevent them from appearing in Google search results.
7That would make it difficult for people using search to find the publishers that choose not to be involved in SGE.
8Google says that the AI-generated summaries are put together from many web pages and that the links are designed to be a starting point to learn more.
9The company describes SGE as an opt-in experiment for users, who will help develop and improve the product.
10To publishers, however, the new search tool is the latest concern in an unusual relationship.
11Publishers both compete against Google for online advertising and depend on the company for search traffic.
12Four major publishers spoke to Reuters news agency recently.
13The businesses said they are trying to understand their place in a world where AI could control how users find and pay for information.
14The publishers asked not to be identified because of ongoing negotiations with Google.
15Publisher concerns relate to a number of issues.
16They include the issue of web traffic; whether publishers will be credited as the providers of information that appears in the SGE summaries; and whether those summaries are correct.
17Most importantly, publishers want to be paid for the content on which Google and other AI companies train their AI tools.
18A Google spokesperson said in a statement: "As we bring generative AI into Search, we're continuing to prioritize approaches that send valuable traffic to a wide range of creators, including news publishers, to support a healthy, open web."
19On the issue of payments, Google said it is developing a better understanding of the business of generative AI applications and getting opinions from publishers and others.
20In late September, Google announced a new tool called Google-Extended.
21It gives publishers the choice to block their content from being used by Google to train its AI models.
22Giving publishers the choice to not be used for AI is a "good faith gesture," said Danielle Coffey, president and chief executive of the News Media Alliance, an industry trade group.
23"Whether payments will follow is a question mark, and to what extent there is openness to having a healthier value exchange," Coffey added.
24The new tool does not permit publishers to block their content from being used for SGE without disappearing from traditional Google search.
25Publishers want evidence that people are using their websites to secure advertisers.
26Showing up in Google search is important to their business.
27The design for SGE has pushed the links that appear in traditional search further down the webpage.
28That might reduce traffic to those links by as much as 40 percent, said an official at one of the publishers.
29More worrying is the possibility that people searching the web will avoid clicking any of the links if the SGE passage meets the users' need for information.
30Nikhil Lai is an expert with Forrester Research, a company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
31He said SGE is "definitely going to decrease publishers'...traffic and they're going to have to think about a different way to measure the value of that content, if not click through rate."
32Even so, he believes publishers will remain trusted because their links will appear in SGE.
33I'm John Russell.
1Publishing companies are growing increasingly concerned about generative AI, especially a model developed by Google. 2Since May, Google has begun releasing a new form of search in the United States, India, and Japan powered by generative AI. The product is called Search Generative Experience, or SGE. SGE uses AI to create summaries for some search questions. Google says those summaries appear on the top of the Google search homepage, with links to "dig deeper." 3If publishers want to prevent their content from being used by Google's AI to create those summaries, they must use the same tool that would prevent them from appearing in Google search results. That would make it difficult for people using search to find the publishers that choose not to be involved in SGE. 4Google says that the AI-generated summaries are put together from many web pages and that the links are designed to be a starting point to learn more. The company describes SGE as an opt-in experiment for users, who will help develop and improve the product. 5To publishers, however, the new search tool is the latest concern in an unusual relationship. Publishers both compete against Google for online advertising and depend on the company for search traffic. 6Four major publishers spoke to Reuters news agency recently. The businesses said they are trying to understand their place in a world where AI could control how users find and pay for information. The publishers asked not to be identified because of ongoing negotiations with Google. 7Publisher concerns relate to a number of issues. They include the issue of web traffic; whether publishers will be credited as the providers of information that appears in the SGE summaries; and whether those summaries are correct. Most importantly, publishers want to be paid for the content on which Google and other AI companies train their AI tools. 8A Google spokesperson said in a statement: "As we bring generative AI into Search, we're continuing to prioritize approaches that send valuable traffic to a wide range of creators, including news publishers, to support a healthy, open web." 9On the issue of payments, Google said it is developing a better understanding of the business of generative AI applications and getting opinions from publishers and others. 10In late September, Google announced a new tool called Google-Extended. It gives publishers the choice to block their content from being used by Google to train its AI models. 11Giving publishers the choice to not be used for AI is a "good faith gesture," said Danielle Coffey, president and chief executive of the News Media Alliance, an industry trade group. "Whether payments will follow is a question mark, and to what extent there is openness to having a healthier value exchange," Coffey added. 12The new tool does not permit publishers to block their content from being used for SGE without disappearing from traditional Google search. 13Publishers want evidence that people are using their websites to secure advertisers. Showing up in Google search is important to their business. The design for SGE has pushed the links that appear in traditional search further down the webpage. That might reduce traffic to those links by as much as 40 percent, said an official at one of the publishers. 14More worrying is the possibility that people searching the web will avoid clicking any of the links if the SGE passage meets the users' need for information. 15Nikhil Lai is an expert with Forrester Research, a company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He said SGE is "definitely going to decrease publishers'...traffic and they're going to have to think about a different way to measure the value of that content, if not click through rate." 16Even so, he believes publishers will remain trusted because their links will appear in SGE. 17I'm John Russell. 18Helen Coster reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19__________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21generative AI - n. a type of artificial intelligence technology that can produce different kinds of content 22model - n. a particular type or version of a product 23summary -n. a restatement of written material that is shorter and contains only the main points 24opt-in -n. to choose to do or be involved in something 25content - n. the things that are in something; the ideas, facts, or images that are in a book, article, speech, movie, etc. 26prioritize - v. to organize (things) so that the most important thing is done or dealt with first 27application - n. a computer program that performs a particular task 28gesture - n. something said or done to show a particular feeling or attitude 29click -n. electronic evidence that a person has looked at a website