Google is continually innovating its search experience, integrating new technologies and features to enhance user interactions and provide more relevant and helpful search results.
What is Search Generative Experience or SGE?
Google Search Generative Experience (SGE) is an experimental search experience that uses generative artificial intelligence (AI) to provide users with quick and clear overviews of search topics.
As per Google, “SGE is an early step in transforming the Search experience with generative AI. “
Google is now experimenting by using generative models, such as large language models (LLMs), to improve search capabilities or enhance the user experience.
How can I explore Google’s SGE?
Currently, Google has not made SGE available for all its users. However, you can access SGE by joining the Google Search Labs.
Step 1: Login to your Google account and search for “Google Search Labs”
Step 2: Click on “Join to try”
That’s it! Now you have signed up for Google’s Search Labs.
Once you’re signed up for Labs, look for the search labs icon in Google search.
This is how a search engine results page with SGE results will look like:
With SGE, Google allows users to further explore the topic by providing related search queries and an option to “Ask a follow up”, which will make the search experience more interactive.
Note: Google also provides an option for its users to Turn off SGE from its search results
Can we rely on SGE for better search results?
At this point of time,, the simple answer would be – NO.
Google itself says that SGE/AI overviews are experimental and Google is trying to make amendments using the current experiments they are running. Google has identified the limitations/challenges they are facing with SGE and have mentioned the same in a recent article published by them in January 2024. You can refer to the same in this link:
Google also asks users for feedback about SGE. So, it clearly suggests that this is an experimental phase for SGE and it won’t be the right decision to completely rely on SGE for the answers to your queries, at this point of time.
