Last Updated on June 25, 2024 by Josh Daniels
So, it appears that the Google AI department didn’t learn their lesson in using experimental AI in their search results. Following the recent chaos caused by their Search Generative Experience (SGE), throwing misinformation into the world of search, they’ve decided it’s a fantastic idea to now plug this malfunctioning AI model into your Google My Business profile… aren’t they just geniuses?
Why should I worry about Google My Business?
Google My Business profiles offer vital trust signals to your potential customers or consumers online, with all of your business’ links being in one sleek panel when you’re found in search. The problem here is that Google are now going to be generating your business description within this panel. Now, on the surface this should not be inherently problematic, Google are a big company, as we all know, they must know what they’re doing… right?
As this screenshot, taken from Jake Moskowitz’s LinkedIn post about Google AI, shows – this AI that is now going to determine how your business is described to your customers and consumers cannot even do basic maths. Failure to do maths as a human is fair enough, but as a piece of software? The AI itself is constructed on mathematics and algorithms.
Now, this may be hearsay, but do you think that this kind of incoherence is something that you’d want anywhere near your business? Let alone one of the biggest trust signals for your business in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) that you’re featured in.
Best Case & Worst Case Scenarios of Google AI Descriptions
I realise that I’m being quite cynical about this whole Google AI debacle, however, if this does indeed perform the way that the Search Generative AI did upon release, there’s definitely a cause for concern for all business owners operating online (which, let’s be honest, is most of them!).
Optimistic Outlook on Google AI
I’ll drop my prejudice for this section…
With AI creating a compelling description for your business, you would be able to see an increase in performance, right? Nobody can understand the Google Search Algorithm better than the people who built it and maintain it. This generative AI could have the potential to completely optimise your business description, even targeting relevant keywords and SEO basics in the process, boosting your performance massively. All of this hinges on the fact that Google are in fact going to be upping their AI investment, both financially and departmentally, to ensure that this is the experience we all hope it to be.
Google AI: Featuring in a Small Claims Court Near you!
If Google mess this up, and I mean really mess this up, business owners globally are not going to be particularly impressed with Google. Based on the SGE failures, this could lead to incoherent, or outright incorrect, description being manufactured for businesses, leading to decreased conversions, traffic and perceived brand value.
Like I say, Google should tread incredibly lightly here, as this kind of failure would place them in a huge predicament, with businesses globally outraged and seeking compensation for the decreases in sales and traffic they may end up experiencing from this AI involvement in their presence online. It would not shock me if somebody became angry enough, if their business is tanked by AI, to just take Google to court. Wouldn’t you?
We’ll have to wait and see…
As much as we can speculate about the inbound failures of this iteration of Google’s AI, we really cannot know how this will affect the businesses whose descriptions are going to be automatically generated. We shouldn’t, although I know I just have, scorn Google from the get-go for their clear drive to incorporate the latest technologies into their public offerings, but they really should maintain a level of restraint when it comes to the livelihood of their customers. Let’s see, with optimism in mind, what happens next…
