Opinion: I'd pay to NOT have generative AI (SGE) in Google search results

Look, I try not to whine about Google. We’ve got this love-hate thing going on. They give me free email, sort of-decent search results, and the occasional existential crisis when I realize how much they know about me. But lately, that relationship has taken a nosedive off a cliff, all thanks to the monstrosity known as SGE (Search Generative Experience).

I’m a writer for this small independent website called PiunikaWeb, one of those places that actually creates the content you find on those shiny Google search results pages. For years, we’ve been chugging along, doing our thing. Then, out of the blue, the helpful content update (HCU) rolled in like the tech equivalent of Godzilla, smashing our traffic and livelihoods into oblivion. Like clockwork, Google announced the expansion of SGE to over 120 countries not long after, claiming that with SGE, “you can get AI-powered overviews that bring together the most helpful and relevant information available for your search.” Smart move, Google!

At first, SGE was limited to a few people enrolled in the Search Labs program. This has been happening since last May, but last month things took a different turn when SGE expanded to users that didn’t sign up. This conveniently coincided with the March 2024 core update that did even more damage to my already empty plate. What this meant is SGE will likely keep its place at the top of search results even against your wish. Apparently, Google decided that instead of directing people to our carefully crafted articles, they’d rather scrape our content, regurgitate it in tidy little summaries, and shove those in people’s faces. Call me old-fashioned, but I like to think people should click on my work, you know, support the starving artist and all that jazz.

Now, Google insists this is all about “helpful content.” Sorry, but when my paycheck takes a swan dive off the Empire State Building, “helpful” ain’t the word that comes to mind. More like “soul-crushing,” with a side order of “how will I pay my rent?” And get this — the cherry on top of this whole debacle is that Google might charge users to access this glorious SGE. Ridiculous, no? The same thing that’s tanking my career? You want me to pay for that privilege? It’s the equivalent of a thief breaking into my house, stealing my TV, and then offering to rent it back to me at a premium.

Look, maybe some folks will find value in SGE. But for small publishers like us, who rely on those clicks and page views, this is a death sentence. Ironic, isn’t it? The company that champions the “free and open web” is the one driving the final nail in the coffin for many of us.

Frankly, I’d pay Google not to have SGE. And as an independent publisher, you probably should too. Heck, I might even start a GoFundMe campaign to remove AI-generated search results from SERPs. Because at this point, anything is better than watching my career, and the careers of so many talented writers, vanish because a tech giant decided it could play content creator without actually creating anything.