At its annual developers' conference, Google announced the roll-out of "AI Overviews." From the New York Times:

Starting this week, [Google CEO Sundar Pichai] said, U.S. users will see a feature, A.I. Overviews, that generates information summaries above traditional search results. By the end of the year, more than a billion people will have access to the technology.

This could be extremely damaging to publishers. So called "zero clicks" -- where a user gets what they need from a Google results page without needing to click through to the source -- are expected to grow rapidly as Google reorients its search engine to compete with ChatGPT et al.

From the Washington Post:

‍The rollout threatens the survival of the millions of creators and publishers who rely on the service for traffic. Some experts argue the addition of AI will boost the tech giant’s already tight grip on the internet, ultimately ushering in a system where information is provided by just a handful of large companies.

Google calls its AI answers “overviews” but they often just paraphrase directly from websites. One search for how to fix a leaky toilet provided an AI answer with several tips, including tightening tank bolts. At the bottom of the answer, Google linked to The Spruce, a home improvement and gardening website owned by web publisher Dotdash Meredith, which also owns Investopedia and Travel + Leisure. Google’s AI tips lifted a phrase from The Spruce’s article word-for-word.

Relatedly, it looks like Apple is prepping to do the same, with no dialogue with publishers, the UK media trade mag Press Gazette reports:

The changes could not only stop publishers from supporting their content with advertising on Apple devices, but they could mean Apple summarises articles for readers without need for them to click on the page.

No UK publishers, and no one outside of Apple, has yet seen the tech giant’s new “web eraser” and AI text summary tools, but they are likely to be launched on Apple devices later this year, sources tell Press Gazette.