Liz Reid, VP of Search at Google, discusses recent product launches and updates within Google's generative AI Mode search experience.
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Reid: Future search will be fluid and multimodal, not purely conversational
“So I don't think use cases are all one or the other. I think we'll see people interact fluidly. I also don't think it's just text, right? You said, is it quick or not? We've rolled out search live in search labs with AI mode. We have lens that's continuing whe…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Reid: Queries causing viral Google AI errors occurred one in 7 million
“What we saw with that incident was both those queries were quite rare. We saw them only like one in seven million, these types that, that people were phrasing.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Reid: Media traffic declines are driven by format shifts, not generative AI
“So they're going more to a podcast, they're going more to forums, they're going more to social posts, and less away from some of the traditional media. And so some of what people are assuming is about what's happening with AI is actually more about the shifts …”
Opinion
Reid: AI Overviews synthesize multiple perspectives better than traditional single links
“I think that's one of the nice things about AI overviews is that you know, it's great that you have all of these different web results, but to the extent that the web results gave different perspective, people might've only clicked on one. And sort of assume t…”
Insight
Reid: Search volume is constrained by friction, not a lack of curiosity
“Whether or not somebody asks a question isn't just a question about whether or not they had a question. It's whether or not it was worth their time. Right. And so people do that question, right? You were curious about the flower, but if you had to figure out h…”
Insight
Reid: Generative AI unlocks search ideas Google failed at for 15 years
“Oftentimes we thought of the idea, 15 years ago, 10 years ago, five years ago, you tried, it didn't work, you tried, it didn't work, or you tried and it was more incremental. You can make a little bit of progress. Suddenly we're at a time where you try those i…”