While this isn't the first time Google has been accused of wanting to put an end to the web as we know it today, the new tool presented by the company is enough to raise a lot of concerns...
It was during Google I/O, the traditional event that presents Google's latest innovations, that spectators had the opportunity to discover AI Mode. And if this name doesn't mean anything to you yet, it could well be a landmark, just like the "Mobile moment" of 2017.
AI Mode, what is it?
Presented last Tuesday during Google I/O, AI Mode is a new tab that should soon appear in Google's search engine results.
Until now, when an Internet user entered a query, they had direct access to traditional Google results and advertisers' ads. From now on, with AI Mode, Google should present a response generated by Google Gemini, its artificial intelligence, with some additional links deemed relevant.
A massive loss of traffic for websites
Although Google justifies the implementation of this feature by the time saving and satisfaction it should bring to users, many press publishers do not see it the same way.
And if the company had communicated, last March, that many press sites were "not worth much", this is not reciprocal for the many signatories of the last News/Media Alliance column.
According to Danielle Coffey, president of this association which brings together nearly 2,000 press organizations, Google could cause a significant loss of traffic for the media, even suggesting that this constitutes "content theft."
A new standoff between Google and the press
For Google, this statement comes at a very critical time. Indeed, while AI Mode is currently very controversial, a new document leak revealed last Monday in Bloomberg shows Google wants to impose this feature on media that want to remain present in search results.
As part of the antitrust trial, which could cause the company to lose the Google Chrome browser, the statement by Liz Reid, who chairs Google Search, has not been convincing. According to him, allowing press publishers to be partially present in the search engine results would involve too much complexity.
However, as was already the case a few years ago with the German press, Google could also decide to reverse its decision...
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