When Google infused Search, the company’s foundational product, with Generative AI, and rolled out the Search Generative Experience (SGE) on August 31, it was but the first response to the peril posed to its search dominance by Microsoft’s new ChatGPT powered Bing search browser.

In its next offensive in the quickly emerging AI wars, it was announced, at the Google for India event held earlier in October, that there will be an enhanced visual feed for searches, with filters that will help users customize their discoveries and purchases within SGE. And India is also the first market in the world with bilingual results for SGE, available in both Hindi and English.

Google also announced that in the coming months it would be adding features on the search page results for products by allowing consumers to chat directly with the brands advertising their wares, thereby streamlining the purchase journey, meaning that being one of the brands to pop up on top has become more complex.

Now that SGE is live, Preetham Venkky, Chief Digital Officer, DDB Mudra, says, “You can see how you don't even get to organic search results in the first fold. Just look at the user experience: you open it, first you get SGE that's practically half the screen, and then it's sponsored ads. And then you get the organic results. So right now, Google is increasingly looking at SGE as organic.”

As the old saying goes, ‘Where do you hide a dead body? On the second page of Google.’ Now, Venkky says, the all-important fold on our screens is the page.

“I have a feeling that people just get their answers in the first fold viz. SGE. So, I think brands need to look at optimizing for SGE and searchable results that come through generative experience because Google hasn't removed the organic part. You still get the thumbnails and links to the articles in the top right-hand corner in SGE. I think that's what brands need to aim at. They need to re-change the scheme with which they're creating the content.”

It should be noted however that as of now, SGE is an opt-in feature and requires updated browsers. For those looking to opt in, look for a blue test tube icon on the top right-hand corner of your Chrome browser.

That’s why Dhruv Shah, VP, CX, FCB/SIX India believes, that if SGE remains in the current state and does not expand on its own, there won’t be major impact as “users may explore the feature in the start, but then go back to the good old way or doing research on Google and clicking on the top three to five organic links.”

He says however that if Google loads the full SGE automatically (and as Generative AI seeps further into our lives, that seems more than likely), traffic to blogs or informative pages may see a drop in the start. “Users will get their answer in the experience and therefore not go further in the journey or users may ‘Ask a Follow Up’ and go further into the conversational journey to find their answer. But if you optimize your pages and feature in the Snapshot Carousel on the right-hand side of SGE, you might get some click through.”

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Mitesh Kothari, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, White Rivers Media, believes that SGE's key features, such as the AI Snapshot, Conversational Mode, and Vertical Experiences, offer brands the opportunity to engage with consumers in more refined and contextually relevant ways.

The AI Snapshot provides concise and tailored summaries, making search results more efficient, while Conversational Mode enables more personalized and conversational interactions, which can enhance consumer engagement. Additionally, Vertical Experiences are particularly valuable for e-commerce brands, allowing them to showcase products effectively.

“While there are implications, including a potential loss of organic traffic and the need to adapt to the new interface, SGE offers advertisers a chance to qualify higher-intent buyers and improve conversion rates, ultimately enhancing their ability to connect with consumers,” says Kothari.

Pointing out that brands, advertisers, and search engine experts will need to grasp the new functionalities introduced by Google SGE and adapt their strategies accordingly, and if they don’t, they will see a major drop in traffic, Samir Asher, Co-founder & COO, Tonic Worldwide, says, “We have already kicked off the SEO implementation for generative AI at Tonic to boost our brands' online profiles. The search results are set to become more relevant and informative under this new framework, placing a significant emphasis on producing quality content. Targeting the precise keywords and phrases will be instrumental in attracting a broader user base and achieving enhanced visibility in the digital landscape.”

Sandeep Saini, Vice President- Growth, Team Pumpkin says SGE’s new features provide chances for more interesting and targeted advertising, resulting in high click-through click rates and conversions. “Additionally, by incorporating Google Lens's new visual search capabilities, businesses can stand out their products or services in the field of digital advertising. Brands may also engage with people more deeply through SGE's dynamic platform, which integrates visual material, linguistic assistance, and useful information such as purchase intent, search history, etc.”

Kothari says that crafting compelling summaries is essential, as brands should ensure their content is well-structured, informative, and directly addresses common user questions to increase the chances of being featured in SGE-generated summaries, while utilizing Conversational Mode allows brands to engage with their audience more effectively by anticipating follow-up questions and providing valuable information.

“For e-commerce businesses, optimizing for Vertical Experiences is crucial, which involves creating comprehensive product listings with detailed information, high-quality images, and customer reviews. Staying up-to-date with SEO best practices and regularly analyzing the impact of SGE on search rankings and user behavior will be essential to adapt and remain competitive in the evolving search landscape,” adds Kothari.

Venkky notes, “This is what I call is a breaking change. What I mean by a breaking change is the change that breaks most things. And so, brands need to re-orchestrate and then build around this breaking change.”