Google’s head of Search, Liz Reid, recently spoke about how artificial intelligence (AI) is shaping the future of search.
The discussion revealed an important message for businesses – search is evolving quickly, but Google still wants to connect users with useful, trustworthy websites.
For business owners who rely on their website to generate enquiries, this can be reassuring. Even with AI tools growing rapidly, Google still sees the web as the foundation of search.
AI Is changing search, but not replacing it
One of the key points from the interview was that search has always evolved. Features like the Knowledge Graph, image search and voice search already changed how results appear; AI is simply the next step.
Google’s AI models, including those used in Gemini, are increasingly powering search experiences; however, Reid explained that Gemini and traditional search still serve different purposes. Gemini focuses more on productivity and generating content, while search remains focused on finding information across the web.
Interestingly, Google has not decided whether the two will fully merge in the future.
Personalised search is a big opportunity
Another major development is personalisation. Google is exploring ways to show users more content from sources they already trust.
For example, people may soon be able to highlight preferred websites so that those sources appear more often in results. Google is also working on systems that recognise content users already pay for and surface it more prominently.
This means businesses that focus on building trust and authority online could benefit greatly.
The fight against “AI slop”
Reid also acknowledged a growing challenge. AI can produce huge volumes of low-quality content very quickly, which is commonly referred to as “AI slop”.
The search engine has been fighting spam for years, and the same principles now apply to AI-generated content. Websites that publish genuinely helpful information will continue to stand out.
What this means for your business
At Engage Web, we see this as a strong reminder that quality content still wins. Businesses that publish useful insights, answer real customer questions and build authority are far more likely to succeed in modern search.
This is where strategies like generative engine optimisation (GEO) are becoming increasingly important. Instead of chasing rankings alone, businesses need content that AI powered search tools trust and reference.
If you want to ensure your website remains visible as Google’s AI search evolves, our team at Engage Web can help you build a futureproof search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy that keeps leads coming in.
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