Google recently found itself in trouble for its AI Reviews feature after it allegedly started showing incorrect and useless answers for search queries. The tech giant also released a statement saying it was working to resolve the issue. Now, a new report has revealed that the visibility of AI Previews has dropped dramatically, appearing for only 15 percent of queries. Furthermore, most of the time, the AI feature is said to appear only in an abbreviated format.
Google’s AI reviews testify to a sharp decline in visibility
According to a report by business SEO platform BrightEdge, the decline in the appearance of AI Reviews in Google search results began in mid-April. Currently, the AI feature is said to be displayed for only 15 percent of queries. On top of reducing the layout, the report also found that most AI-collected responses are displayed in an abbreviated format where a summary view of the responses can be seen.
The diminishing visibility becomes even more pronounced when compared to the appearance of the feature before publication. Before its official unveiling at the Google I/O event, AI Overview, which was then known as Search Generated Experience (SGE) and was an opt-in feature, appeared in 84 percent of search queries, according to the report. One possible reason for the reduced visibility is believed to be recent issues with the artificial intelligence feature.
Google’s AI reviews have faced criticism for hallucinations
Google launched AI Overviews in the US for all users in early May, and soon after some users started reporting incorrect and strange answers to some queries. For example, user X (formerly known as Twitter) posted screenshots where after searching for “non-sticky pizza cheese,” the AI suggested using a non-toxic sauce glue. In the following days, many users found similar problems with the feature.
Last week, the tech giant responded to the criticism and said it was working “quickly to address these issues, either through improvements to our algorithms or through processes in place to remove responses that do not comply with our policies.” A separate report also claims that Google is manually turning off AI reviews for web queries.
