There’s a new study showing that AI-powered search engines often cite lesser-known websites more frequently than traditional ones like Google. Researchers from Ruhr University Bochum and the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems detailed the findings in their paper titled “Characterizing Web Search in the Age of Generative AI.”

The team compared Google’s standard search results with responses from Google’s AI Overviews, Gemini 2.5 Flash, and two variants of GPT-4o’s web search mode. The analysis revealed that AI systems often draw from websites that rank far lower in popularity. In many cases, these sources do not appear in Google’s top 100 results for the same query.

The researchers used a range of test queries, including real user questions from ChatGPT conversations, political topics from AllSides, and Amazon’s most-searched products. According to Tranco, a domain-ranking tool, the sources AI engines used ranked significantly lower than those in Google’s top results. Gemini’s results had a median domain rank beyond the top 1,000.

Over half of the sources cited by Google’s AI Overviews were absent from the top 10 traditional results. About 40 percent did not appear in the top 100 at all. However, this shift toward obscure websites did not appear to harm the quality of information. GPT-based models frequently cited corporate sites and encyclopedic content while avoiding social media.

The study found that AI-generated search results contained about the same range of identifiable “concepts” as traditional search, suggesting that AI systems maintain a comparable level of information diversity. However, because these models summarize information rather than listing individual sources, they often compress large amounts of data into shorter responses. This compression can lead to the loss of smaller or more ambiguous details that might still appear in traditional search results.

Researchers also noted that AI-powered search tools struggle with time-sensitive or rapidly changing topics. GPT-4o’s hybrid mode, for instance, sometimes failed to provide the most up-to-date information when responding to queries about recent events or trending subjects.

The future of search isn’t about better or worse. It’s about difference. And if this study is right, AI may be building a web that values synthesis over popularity, and that’s rewriting the rules of online authority.

In related AI news, Google has introduced Vibe Coding in AI Studio, a new feature that lets developers create fully functional AI apps from a single prompt. Meanwhile, ByteDance has launched Seed3D 1.0, a tool capable of instantly converting any 2D photo into a realistic 3D model.

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The US Department of Justice’s (DoJ) ongoing antitrust lawsuit against Google has uncovered something quite interesting: a $20 billion payment made by Google to Apple in 2022. This hefty sum allegedly secured Google’s position as the default search engine on Apple’s Safari browser across iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

Google and Apple have previously chosen to keep this information under wraps

The revelation comes from a recently released court document. Interestingly, Google and Apple have historically kept the terms of this agreement under wraps, despite renegotiating it multiple times since 2002, when Google first became the default search engine on Apple devices.

The DoJ’s relentless pursuit of transparency has finally yielded results. A lawsuit filed last year indicated that Google’s payments to Apple constituted 36% of Apple’s total Safari revenue, hinting at a significant figure. Now, the exact amount – a staggering $20 billion – is confirmed.

This deal has drawn criticism from competitors like Microsoft. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella claims the agreement stifles competition for search engines like Bing. He even revealed that Microsoft previously attempted, unsuccessfully, to have Apple adopt Bing as the default.

Apple, however, defends its choice. In court testimony, Apple’s Eddy Cue expressed concerns about Bing’s ability to match Google in “quality and functionality.” According to Cue, Apple simply believes Google delivers the “best” search experience for its users.

The future of this agreement is now resting on the DoJ lawsuit. Closing arguments are set for later this week, with a final decision from the judge expected sometime in 2024. If Google loses the case, the deal with Apple could be nullified. Stay tuned to Gizmochina for future coverage on the same.

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Microsoft Bing has achieved a significant milestone, overtaking Baidu to become the largest desktop search engine in China. Recent data from StatCounter reveals that in April 2023, Bing captured a historic high market share of 37.4%, surpassing Baidu and establishing a 10-percentage-point lead.

Bing’s Rise to the Top: Overtaking Baidu in China’s Desktop Search Market

Baidu’s market share has declined to 27.01%, resulting in Bing’s rise to the top position. Following Bing and Baidu, the rankings are occupied by Sogou (16.36%), Yandex (7.45%), Haosou (6.25%), and Google (5.2%) respectively.

The success of Bing can be attributed to its deep integration into various Microsoft products and services. Acting as the company’s fourth prominent product line, Bing is closely tied with Windows, Office, and Xbox.

Microsoft has been consistently enhancing Bing’s capabilities by integrating the latest technologies. On February 8th of this year, Bing adopted an upgraded version of its AI model, GPT-3.5, to enhance search results. Additionally, Microsoft confirmed on March 15th that Bing’s search engine now operates on GPT-4, the latest iteration of its AI model.

In a recent statement, Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind, a Google subsidiary specializing in artificial intelligence, warned of fundamental changes in the internet landscape. He predicted that traditional search methods would become obsolete within the next decade, giving way to a conversational and interactive search experience. Such a transformation is expected to have a profound impact on the future of the internet and those who rely on it for information and livelihood.

The rise of Bing in China exemplifies the dynamic nature of the search engine market and highlights the increasing competition among major players to innovate and provide enhanced search experiences for users.

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As the Artificial Intelligence race heats up, Google is feeling the pressure, and the company is now reportedly working on a new AI-powered search engine.

According to the latest reports, the Mountain View-based technology giant is in the process of creating a new AI-powered search engine as well as updating technology in the existing search platform.

Internal documents indicate that the company has a project named Magi which is aimed at updating the existing search engine with the new technology and about 160 employees are currently working on it.

The new features are being created by designers, engineers, and executives working in sprint rooms to tweak and test the new versions. After the changes, the search engine would offer a more personalized experience than the company’s current service.

Google is reportedly planning to announce Magi next month and is expected to introduce additional features sometime in the fall. If that’s the case, then we expect the company to reveal details at the upcoming Google I/O. As per the report, Magi will be rolled out to one million users in the US before expanding to 30 million users by the end of the year.

The development comes at a time when it is reported that Samsung is considering ditching Google for Microsoft Bing as the default search engine on its devices. This poses a threat to a $3 billion contract with Samsung a similar $20 billion contract with Apple is up for renewal for the company.

Microsoft Bing, along with other products and services from the Redmond-based technology giant, has been in the news lately as the company has been increasingly relying on AI technologies, especially the ones developed by OpenAI to enhance offerings in the market.

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ChatGPT taking internet by storm, as the artificial intelligence is being used in many different services. Recently, it was integrated into Bing and other Microsoft services, which brought great success to the company and caused a rise in the search engine’s popularity. Now, DuckDuckGo, another search engine, is following suit by releasing its own ChatGPT-powered search tool, DuckAssist. Here are the details…

DuckAssist: DuckDuckGo’s New ChatGPT Based AI Search Feature

DuckDuckGo has released a new tool called DuckAssist. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology called ChatGPT to give users quick and accurate answers to their search queries. The answers are gathered from websites like Wikipedia and presented in a way that looks similar to regular search results.

First of all, we must warn that DuckAssist isn’t a chatbot, so users don’t need to talk to it. Instead, it shows users an automatic answer when it recognizes a question it can answer. This feature will be especially useful for straightforward questions like “What is a search engine index?” and others that have simple, factual answers. The ChatGPT-powered tool is currently in beta and is free to use on the DuckDuckGo app and browser extension.

DuckDuckGo is committed to keeping users’ data private, and DuckAssist is no exception. It won’t collect any personal information or require users to log in. The company also plans to keep users’ search and browsing history anonymous when sharing data with its partners, OpenAI and Anthropic, who helped develop the ChatGPT technology.

If DuckAssist proves to be popular, DuckDuckGo plans to roll it out to everyone using the search tool on its website. Users can also provide feedback on the AI-generated answers anonymously, which will help the company improve the tool.

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(via)

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At the MWC 2023 in Barcelona, Huawei unveiled the latest features of its Petal Search mobile search engine, namely the AR search function and On-screen Lens function. These powerful features cater to users’ needs for text, image, and object recognition in a variety of scenarios, such as travel and entertainment. Petal Search boasts deep learning and large-scale machine learning technologies, which enable it to recognize hundreds of thousands of objects from dozens of categories in just centiseconds. Moreover, the search engine supports translation between multiple mainstream languages, making it a valuable tool for international users.

Statistics from Statista show that global paying users of AR-related services have grown at a compound annual rate of 64% between 2020 and 2022. In response, Petal Search has upgraded its AR search capability, allowing users to identify objects in real-time without taking photos. This feature utilizes advanced models based on hundreds of millions of data records and tens of billions of images to deliver accurate results in centiseconds. Users can also translate screen content and save translation results on the go using the On-screen Lens function. Petal Search’s comprehensive search capability integrates tools, content, and services, enabling users to securely download apps, check the weather, translation, and exchange rates, and access trending news, video, images, and academic knowledge.

Petal Search has localized features that cater to users in different countries and regions, including an earthquake information card in Latin America. Additionally, the search engine has partnered with over 3000 ecosystem partners to provide users with one-stop services for shopping, travel, and local life. Currently, Petal Search offers services in over 170 countries and regions, supporting more than 70 languages, and complying with the local GDPR standard. As a key component of Huawei’s “1+8+N” strategy, Petal Search will continue to evolve towards a more convenient and intelligent one-stop search experience.

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Google has been accused of profiting from misleading adverts that direct pregnant women to anti-abortion groups that offer false medical advice and pressure them to keep their pregnancies.

The Guardian reports that according to an investigation by the Observer, Google UK has been displaying adverts for crisis pregnancy centres (CPCs) run by anti-abortion organisations when users search for terms such as “NHS abortion advice”, “confidential abortion support” and “pregnant options”.

CPCs are unregulated clinics that often pose as neutral sources of information and counselling, but in reality, have a hidden agenda to dissuade women from accessing legal abortion services. Some of them have been found to use scare tactics, misinformation and emotional manipulation to influence women’s decisions.

The Guardian analysed 251 adverts shown by Google UK to a user searching 40 key phrases related to abortion in February 2023. Out of these, 117 adverts (47%) were for CPCs run by anti-abortion groups such as Life Charity in the country.

The report quotes Lisa Hallgarten, head of policy at young people’s sexual health charity Brook, who described the marketing approach as “clearly immoral” and said adverts provided to those searching terms such as “NHS abortion advice” could delay women’s access to healthcare.

“We are really concerned that people looking for impartial support are being directed to organisations and websites where they could experience the complete opposite,” she said. Pam Lowe, an expert on anti-abortion activism in the United Kingdom, said: “Anyone who puts ‘NHS abortion’ into Google should be shown a link to the NHS website as the first result. There’s a risk that people could end up with biased information.”

Google’s advertising policy states that it does not allow ads for products or services that are “deceptive” or “misleading”. It also states that it does not allow ads for healthcare services that are “unlawful” or “harmful”. However, Google has failed to enforce its own policy and remove these ads from its platform.

The report also points out that Google has a history of allowing anti-abortion groups to target pregnant women with misleading ads in other countries such as the United States, where CPCs are more widespread and influential in the conservative community.

Google’s failure to act on these ads has been criticised by pro-choice campaigners, medical experts and politicians who say that it is putting women’s health and rights at risk. They argue that Google is profiting from exploiting vulnerable women who are seeking reliable information on this sensitive issue.

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A shocking scam involving fake websites that impersonate real businesses and charge customers with fake Amex merchant accounts has been exposed by Cory Doctorow, a writer and activist who writes about technology and society.

Doctorow shared his story on Twitter, where he told how he was scammed when he tried to buy some takeout food from a website called kiinthaila.com. He found out that the website was actually a fake one created by scammers using Wix, a platform that allows anyone to create websites effortlessly. The scammers also created fraudulent Amex merchant accounts for real businesses and used them to charge customers who ordered from their fake websites.

Doctorow contacted Amex to report the fraud, but he was disappointed by their response. He said they did not seem interested in investigating the scam or shutting down the fraudulent accounts. He also pointed out that Google was promoting these scammers by showing their ads as the first search result instead of the official website, which is kiinthaiburbank.com.

This scam is not only harmful to customers who lose their money and trust, but also to legitimate businesses whose names and reputations are damaged by these scammers. It is alarming that Google even allows these scammers to manipulate its search results and put its users at risk.

The tweet has then since garnered over 66.9 thousand likes on Twitter as of publishing, increasing the pressure on Google to put measures in place to prevent the scams from occurring.

In other news, Microsoft is aiming for Google’s search engine market share. This month, the tech giant Microsoft announced that it is bringing OpenAI’s latest GPT-4 technology to the company’s search engine, Bing. To read more on the new Bing, you can follow our coverage here.

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Microsoft is pushing its search engine, Bing, in Australia, as uncertainty rises regarding Google continuing the service of its own search engine in the region. The company even recently talked with the nation’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

For those unaware, the Australian government recently introduced a new regulation that would require payments to media outlets by tech giants like Google. According to a Reuters report, this would essentially force payments from social media giants like Facebook as well. These payments would go towards domestic media outlets whose content links are what drives the traffic to these major platforms.

Thus, the big tech companies have called the law “unworkable” and stated that they would be withdrawing a few of their key services from Australia if the new regulations were enforced. This would have the withdrawal of Google’s search engine from the region, which accounts for nearly 94 percent of the nation’s search engine market at the moment.

Furthermore, the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, spoke to the Prime Minister about the new regulations and even added that the company was ready to expand its influence in the region through its proprietary search engine Bing, which is the world’s second largest search engine at the moment. Morrison stated that “I can tell you, Microsoft’s pretty confident, when I spoke to Satya. We just want the rules in the digital world to be the same that exist in the real world, in the physical world.”

A spokesperson from Microsoft also confirmed the discussion but declined on revealing any more information as of right now. The official further added that “We recognize the importance of a vibrant media sector and public interest journalism in a democracy and we recognize the challenges the media sector has faced over many years through changing business models and consumer preferences.” Unfortunately, Google has yet to respond to this matter.

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A new report has suggested that Apple might be working on a new project, which is related to a full fledged search engine. The information arrives after various developers noticed increased activity through Apple’s Applebot in their website logs.

While the company might be working on its proprietary search engine, it is more likely that the Cupertino based giant is placing a focus on improving the Siri and Spotlight search results. According to a MacRumors report, the Applebot had begun showing a noticeable increase in activity. This caused various individuals to take to Twitter to share their thoughts on it as well.

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Jon Henshaw, Founder of Coywolf, also posted on his blog after he noticed the Apple web crawler regularly visiting his websites. For those unaware, the Applebot functions similarly to any other web crawler and scans the web to determine how search results would be ranked. This depends on various factors, including user engagement, relevancy, and more. Thus, the increased activity kicked off the new speculation regarding a possible Apple search engine.

At the moment, it seems unlikely that Apple would actually focus on developing a search engine since it promotes itself as a privacy centric brand that runs without any ads. But, examples like DuckDuckGo have shown that such search engines do exist and can operate without ad revenue or data based business models. So, take this report with a pinch of salt for now.

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A few months ago, it was reported that Google, the world’s leading search engine, is working on a secret project for the Chinese market. That secret project, Dragonfly product, was a censored search engine for China.

However, as per the latest reports, amid outcry inside and outside of Google, the company has set aside its controversial push to launch a censored search service in China. The pressure seems to have caused leaders to “shelve it at least in the short term,” said the report from The Intercept.

The report about Google working on a censored search engine for China had already caused an outcry among human rights activists who were concerned that the company would block a long list of foreign websites and search queries including the 1989 Tiananmen massacre and information about the Chinese leadership.

As per the report, many Google engineers working on the project have reportedly been reassigned to projects related to Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, and other countries.

In 2008, Google purchased 265.com, a popular Chinese web directory, which also has a search function, but queries are redirected to Baidu, China’s most popular search engine. Before they’re sent to Baidu, however, they are also sent back to a Google database. Google was reportedly using this as a way to effectively build blacklists to make Dragonfly compliant with Chinese censorship regulations.

Google then apparently used this large set of queries to “improve” its own results. The “data analysis system” that Google was using to develop Dragonfly was not disclosed to the privacy team. After raising concerns, Dragonfly engineers have been prevented from analyzing 265.com queries, and that has brought the project to a standstill.

After years of being absent from China’s web search market, Google had wanted to launch the Dragonfly product in early 2019. Alphabet’s search engine platform was pulled out by the company in 2010 while its video platform YouTube has been blocked in China.

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Last week, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that Google had no immediate plans to launch Dragonfly in China, although his answers were vague enough to not rule out any future action.

(Source)

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Recently, there were reports making rounds that Alphabet‘s Google could relaunch its operation in the Chinese market with a censored version of its search engine. But, the latest report from state-owned China Securities Daily reveals that it’s not happening.

China Securities Daily, citing information from “relevant departments”, reports that the search engine giant is not trying to return to the Chinese market. However, previous reports had indicated that a censored version of Google search engine for China is in the works that will block some websites and certain search terms.

The said censored version of the search engine project has a code-name “Dragonfly” and has reportedly been underway since the spring of 2017. The report further adds that the progress on the project picked up after a December meeting between Google’s Chief Executive Sundar Pichai and top Chinese government officials.

Certain search terms that the censored version of the search engine could blacklist are said to be related to human rights, democracy, religion and peaceful protests. The Intercept says that a working version of this had already been demonstrated to the Chinese government. The finalized version could be launched in the next six to nine months after getting approval from Chinese officials.

While Google has declined to comment on the specifics of the report, it noted that the company has launched a number of mobile application in China and works with local developers as part of maintaining its domestic presence.

The report about Google working on a censored search engine for China has already caused an outcry among human rights activists who are concerned that the company would block a long list of foreign websites and search queries including the 1989 Tiananmen massacre and information about the Chinese leadership.

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For those who are unaware, Alphabet’s search engine platform was pulled out by the company in 2010 while its video platform YouTube has been blocked in China. However, the company has been attempting to make new inroads into the Chinese market.

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Google is not popular in China, and now the popular search engine in China is Baidu, even the Google is only got the fifth position as the popular search engine in China.

According to a press release, the Chinese Internet giant Tencent’s Soso will combine with Sohu’s Sogou, as it looks to steal a bigger slice of the local search engine market dominated by Baidu.

In the merger, Tencent also spending of 448 million USD to buy shares in Sogou by 36.5 percent. In the coming period, the percentage of these shares will be increased up to 40 percent.

Chairman and CEO of Sohu, Charles Zhang said that the partnership is one step to improve the competitiveness of both companies. Especially when the search engine Sogou is the third largest in China with a market share of 8.83 percent. While owned by Tencent Soso was ranked fourth with a percentage of 3:45 percent.

While the biggest search engine in China is Baidu’s gain a market share of 69 percent. Sitting in second is a new search engine called Qihoo with a percentage of 15 percent. And finally, Google is in fifth position with a market share of 13.2 percent.

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