Google Search Generative Experience: How Will It Work & Impact SEO?

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Although the topic of Search Generative Experience (SGE) is still very fresh, it is known as a revolution in Google Search. It’s an experimental version of the search engine that aims to provide high-quality answers to more complex and comprehensive user queries in a more contextual way. This is a response to the spreading AI revolution and is similar to the Bing search engine’s new version created in March 2023.

How Does the Search Generative Experience Work?

Search Generative Experience will provide users with a more extensive answer to a given query and then suggest additional sources and hints for exploring a given topic. It will work by providing key information on a given topic and suggest possible alternatives to explore the topic further.

Regarding shopping suggestions, Google will explain the features of a given product, list the models, and direct you to e-commerce stores. Furthermore, the window will display results such as opinions, reviews, ratings, photos, and comparisons to similar products. There will also be the possibility to start long conversations with the search engine and AI to clarify the information if needed.

In addition, Google will remember the user’s previous searches, which will be taken into consideration when responding to new queries. This allows the user to ask follow-up questions, with the context being carried over from question to question to help naturally continue exploration.

What Will the SGE Panel Look Like?

The AI score will be displayed as a large module between paid and organic results, containing the answer to the question and links to the sources. Additional hints, such as pages where the user will be able to explore a given topic, will be displayed at the bottom of the panel. It’s important to note that the user will also have the option to hide the SGE field.

How to Optimise Your Website for Search Generative Experience Right Now?

There has been a lot of concern within the SEO industry about the loss of organic traffic from the first results due to the emergence of the SGE at the top of the organic search results. This concern is understandable, as it did happen with Featured Snippets. However, achieving the goal of being noticed by Google as a reliable source of knowledge and showing the website in SGE can contribute to a significant increase in brand recognition and trust.

In addition, Google promises us that the new function will provide information on which sources the answers were generated from.

Preliminarily analysing the functions that Search Generative Experience will offer, we can conclude that the content which the AI will generate its answers from will play a large role. Therefore, websites that already invest heavily in content building strategy will certainly gain. In the case of e-commerce stores, detailed product descriptions will play a key role.

Pages on medical, legal, or financial topics can feel safe as Google does not intend to display content using AI, in accordance with the YMYL – Your Money Your Life theory.

How to Use Search Generative Experience Function?

For now, only US users have access to SGE. Google Search AI can be accessed through the Google Labs platform, which is a tool for testing new products in Google services before they are generally available. It is also worth noting that Google informs the user that the AI answers are experimental.

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