Google’s John Mueller confirms that core updates affect the AI-powered overviews the search engine provides.

In a recent LinkedIn discussion, Google’s Senior Search Analyst John Mueller confirmed that core algorithm updates influence the search engine’s AI-powered overviews. This insight sheds light on how AI increasingly integrates into Google’s search results.

Addressing a query on LinkedIn, Mueller stated, “These are a part of search, and core updates affect search, so yes.” This supports observations within the SEO community that the sources used in AI overviews often shift following major algorithm updates.

Background on AI Overviews

A few months ago, Google introduced AI-generated overviews in U.S. search results. These summaries are created using a specialized version of Google’s Gemini AI, which gathers information from various websites and condenses it into a concise, easy-to-read format at the top of search results.

The Impact of Core Updates

Core updates are significant changes to Google’s search algorithms and systems, usually implemented several times yearly. These updates are to enhance the quality of search results by reevaluating how content is assessed and ranked.

Google’s latest core update, which began on August 15, is still in progress. The company recommends waiting until the update is fully deployed before assessing its impact.

Looking Ahead

As Google continues integrating AI into its search capabilities, publishers seek greater transparency on how core algorithm updates affect these features.

While Mueller’s confirmation provides some insight, many questions remain unanswered. There’s still much to learn about what determines the content that appears in AI overviews and whether these criteria differ from those used to rank websites in traditional search results.

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