Google has developed a new experience called AI Overview which offers a chatbot-type experience on its search engine. In essence, like ChatGPT or Gemini, this feature uses generative artificial intelligence to directly answer questions asked by the user instead of displaying typical search results. And after experiencing some hiccups during its launch in the United States, this new form of Google results is being deployed in more countries.
Indeed, the firm recently announced the deployment of results generated by AI in more than 100 countrieswhich will make the feature accessible to a billion people. This is almost a global launch which, however, does not concern France or the other countries of the European Union. But why? It is very likely that Google has decided not to launch this new feature in our region yet due to the specific rules governing digital technology.
We can naturally think of the Digital Markets Act, legislation which concerns giants like Apple or Google, and which is for example one of the factors blocking the launch of Apple Intelligence in the EU (this will be available in the European Union in 2025). But beyond this, Google will have to respect other obligations in order to comply with the AI Act, another legislation which governs the development of artificial intelligence.
A success according to Google
In any case, Google seems to have improved the quality of the responses generated by its AI on Search. “We see strong engagement, which increases overall search engine usage and user satisfaction. People are asking longer, more complex questions and exploring a wider range of websites. What’s particularly interesting is that this growth increases over time, as people learn that Google can answer more of their questions.said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google.
However, these AI-generated answers do not completely replace traditional, linked search results. Quoted by the Mashable site, Hema Budaraju, senior director of product management for Search, explains that artificial intelligence only comes into play when it can provide value, but not when the user poses a query that can be answered by traditional search results.
- Google has just launched the deployment of AI Overview, the integration of generative AI into its search engine, in more than 100 countries
- But France and other EU countries are not concerned
- It is likely that this delay is due to the additional rules that Google must follow (DMA and AI Act)
