Technology
Google AI Overview is being rolled out in a big way to over 100 countries
Google said that this is the biggest expansion of AI Overview since the feature was launched.
Google on Monday announced the expansion of AI Overview to over 100 countries. The feature, which provides a brief overview of a search query using artificial intelligence (AI), was previously limited to a few regions. However, the Mountain View-based tech giant is now moving to a wider user base with this update. The company highlighted that this is the biggest expansion of the feature since its launch. Notably, a report last month claimed that AI Overview had started showing ads to some users at the bottom of the interface.
Google expands AI Overview to over 100 countries
In a blog post, the tech giant elaborated on the expansion move. AI Overview was released to the public in May. However, it was available to beta testers in 2023 as Search Generative Experiences (SGE). At the time of launch, Google changed the branding of the feature to introduce the new name.
Google said that starting this week, AI Overview will become available in over 100 countries and in more languages than before. Previously, it was only available in English, but now the feature also supports Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. This means that AI Overview will be active even when a question is not asked in the English language.
After the expansion, Google believes that the feature will reach over a billion users globally. The feature was probably expanded because the tech giant now plans to earn revenue through it. Last month, many users noticed ads at the bottom of the AI Overview interface.
Google said that ads will continue to appear in dedicated slots with “clear labeling to differentiate between organic and sponsored results.” While the rest of the world will only see ads on browsers, the tech giant is now rolling out ads on mobile devices in the US as well. The post states that this is being done “so that we can better connect people with products and brands that are helpful to their searches.”
Notably, the tech giant recently introduced improved transparency with AI overviews. The feature will now see a clear link icon on the display that will highlight the source of the information. The company said that this will also drive traffic to the source websites.
