Artificial intelligence is showing up everywhere in Google’s services these days, whether people want it or not, and sometimes in places they don’t really care about. Google’s latest trial appears to be giving articles in Google Discover the AI treatment. The Verge Noticed that some articles are appearing in Google Discover with AI-generated titles that differ from the original posts And to absolutely no one’s surprise, some of these headlines are misleading or flat-out wrong.
For example, a rewritten headline claimed “Steam Machine Prices Revealed,” but Ars Technica of articles The original headline was “Valve’s Steam Machine looks like a console, but don’t expect it to cost anything.” No cost has yet been shared for the hardware in that post or anywhere else from Valve. In our own research, Engadget Staff also found that Discover is delivering original titles with AI-generated summaries. In both cases, the content is “generated with AI, which can make mistakes.” But it would definitely be better if the company doesn’t use AI in these situations and thus avoid mistakes altogether.
examples The Verge Google representative Mallory DeLeon told the publication that apparently “a small UI test for a subset of Discover users” was available. We’re testing a new design that repositions existing headings so they can easily digest topic descriptions before exploring links across the web.” It sounds innocuous enough, but Google has a history of hostility toward online media that often play the role of intermediary between publishers and readers. Web publishers have made multiple attempts over the years to get compensation from Google for displaying portions of their content, and in at least two cases, Google cut those sources from search results and later claimed that showing the news didn’t do much for its ad business bottom line.
Google Discover is testing AI-generated headlines
For those of you who actually want more AI in your Google search experience, you’re in luck. AI Mode, the chatbot that has already been called outright “steal” by the News Media Alliance, is getting more symbiotic integration into mobile search platforms. Robbie Stein, vice president of product at Google Search has been posted Yesterday at X the company is testing that AI mode is accessible on the same screen as the AI overview instead of the two services existing in separate tabs.