Google is rolling out a new feature, SGE while browsing, as an early experiment that would allow users to summarize articles and other types of long-form content as they browse the web on Chrome or Google app on Android and iOS. The feature is a part of Google’s Search Generative Experience and has been announced alongside numerous new experiments that Google introduced on Wednesday. It is going to available on Google app for now through Search Labs and would be rolled out for Chrome on desktop later
It will allow users to receive an AI-generated list of key points (essentially a bulleted summary) of the article with a simple tap or click. It will also assist them in swiftly navigating to different topics covered within the article through a section called ‘Explore on Page,’ which will showcase questions that the article addresses. Tapping or clicking on any of these questions would then guide users to the relevant section within the article.
“We think these capabilities can be particularly helpful when you’re learning something new or complex, but they can also come in handy for other tasks like finding a new recipe or researching a big purchase,” said Google in a blogpost.
The feature would only work for free articles on the web, “It does not provide key points on articles marked as paywalled.” The blogpost by Google, however, suggests that the publishers will have to mark the content as paywalled using structured data markup. The company said that it will use the experiment to gather feedback on what works best for both publishers and users, to potentially make improvements in the future.
The users who are opted into SGE through Search Labs will automatically receive access to SGE while browsing. Those who are not opted in have the option to use SGE while browsing as a standalone experiment in Search Labs.
