Google is launching AI-assisted summaries directly in Discover, its personalized news feed located in the Google Search app. TechCrunch reports that some users in the U.S. are seeing Discover cards on iOS and Android that provide new summaries instead of a single publisher’s headline and logo, similar to how AI reviews appear at the top of search results. This further obscures news sources at a time when search traffic to publishers is disappearing.
AI-assisted summaries in Discover display overlapping icons in the top left corner that indicate the number of stories cited. Clicking on the icons opens a “More” sheet with all the contributing articles. Users get a quick three-line preview before having to click “View More” to expand the summary. A prominent warning is displayed below the text, informing users that the summaries are generated by AI, “which may make mistakes.”
It seems that this feature has been in development for some time. Google’s bug finder AndellDam found that trending cards with AI-assisted summaries similar to AI reviews were tested in Google Discover in June. A Google spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that this was not a test, but a US launch for iOS and Android. Google told the publication that the feature will focus on trending lifestyle topics such as sports and entertainment, and aims to make it easier for people to choose the pages they want to visit.
This is the latest of several AI features Google is experimenting with that discourages users from clicking on web links, after testing AI reviews, audio reviews, and AI mode in Search. This is a concern for the publishing industry, which has seen a sharp drop in website traffic and referrals as AI pulls information from articles and eliminates the need for readers to go to the original sources. This loss of traffic and revenue from Google Zero has already contributed to the destruction of sites such as AnandTech, Giant Freakin Robot, Laptop Mag, and Buzzfeed News, reducing the amount of resources Google can provide to its AI.
