The snippets of AI-generated information appearing at the top of Google Search results are the norm now, for better or worse. Known as AI Overviews and infamous for suggesting putting glue on pizza and making other errors in its early days, the feature has not been removed. Instead, Google doubled down on AI Overviews, bringing it to more markets. Then again, the AI Overviews no longer suggest putting glue on pizza, so that’s a win.
Google is ready to upgrade the AI Overviews further, saying that Google Search users seem to like the feature. “Since AI Overviews launched last year, people are more satisfied with their search results, and they’re asking longer, more complex questions,” Google said in a blog post covering Google’s newest health-related initiatives.
One of those initiatives is having AI Overviews show more health information than before.
“With recent health-focused advancements on Gemini models, we continue to further improve AI Overviews on health topics so they’re more relevant, comprehensive and continue to meet a high bar for clinical factuality,” Google said.
“We’ve also continued to provide knowledge panels on common health topics, like the flu or the common cold, and help people connect with reliable sources across the web.”
AI Overviews will further enhance that health-related functionality. Google says it’s using AI and its “best-in-class quality ranking systems” to expand the AI Overviews to cover “thousands more health topics.” However, these topics are unclear, so your mileage may vary.
I might not be a fan of AI Overviews or use Google Search as my main search engine, but I’m not a stranger to googling health topics. We’ve all done it since the internet existed. We’ve also seen all the memes of doctors angry at patients for googling their symptoms and having their own diagnosis when coming in for an appointment.
That happened before generative AI came to search, and AI will now make it even easier to find information about health conditions, whether you use AI Overviews in Google Search, ChatGPT, or a different chatbot.
Google also said that AI Overviews will not show just medical information from experts, which is what you’d want from the feature. Apparently, people “also value hearing from others who have similar experiences.” AI Overviews will include information from other patients experiencing similar conditions.
You’ll see a “What People Suggest” category in AI Overviews that gathers information from other non-professional sources. Here’s an example Google offers:
For example, a person dealing with arthritis might want to know how others with this condition exercise. With this feature, they can quickly uncover real insights from people who also have the condition, with links to click out and learn more. “What People Suggest” is available on mobile devices in the U.S.
The screenshot above gives you an idea of what the new AI Overviews functionality will look like. And yes, it seems that health-related AI Overviews will take over almost the entire Google Search page results on mobile. That’s where you’re likely to see these health results pop up first.
The health-centric AI Overviews will be available in more countries and languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese.
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