Google is introducing a new feature called “SGE while browsing” to its Search Generative Experience (SGE), which will use AI to provide summaries of articles you’re reading within the Chrome web browser. This feature aims to offer users a quick overview of the key points in an article, helping them get the essential information without needing to read the entire content.
Currently available for search result summaries, this new feature will roll out next week as an early experiment within the opt-in Search Labs program. Initially, it will be available on mobile devices before being introduced to the Chrome browser on desktops.
As users scroll through a web page or article, a pop-up will appear with Google’s generated summary of the key points. Clicking on a highlighted point will take users directly to the relevant paragraph in the article. This feature is designed for freely available articles on the web and won’t work on content behind paywalls.
Google SGE while browsing – how ai handles content about itself pic.twitter.com/LDLxUr9x1c
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) August 15, 2023
In addition to the article summarization, the SGE will introduce other features, such as the ability to hover over specific words to see definitions or diagrams, particularly for scientific, economic, or historical topics.
While this feature could be beneficial for quickly grasping essential information from articles, some concerns have been raised about its potential impact on content creators. If users rely solely on these summaries, it might lead to overlooking important context, details, or nuances that the original article provides. Despite potential concerns from content creators, Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, has indicated that this is a direction in which search functionality is evolving.
