Google now offers new Web search and blocking AI Overviews

This is no joke: Google will now allow searches to be performed on the "web". It's rolling out 'web' searches now, and in early tests on desktop, it looks like it's going to be a hugely popular change to Google's search engine.

Set the option to filter out almost all of the other content blocks that Google crams into search results pages, leaving only links and text. Google confirmed to The Verge that it will also block the company's new AI Overviews.

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Reading this, you may be wondering: Isn't every search a web search? What is Google Search if not the web? But independent sites like HouseFresh and Retro Dodo have pointed out that their businesses have been "buried deep under sponsored posts, Quora advice from 2016, best-of lists from traditional sites." large traffic and no less than 64 product listings on Google Shopping" .

Now, with just one click, those series of obstacles seem to have disappeared.

Search for 'best home arcade cabinets' , one of Retro Dodo's basic queries, and it's no longer "buried" - it appears on page 1.

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With and without 'web' filter

HouseFresh still doesn't get a page 1 position for 'best budget air purifiers' - but it's in a higher position and users are no longer overwhelmed by the number of Google Shopping results:

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If you search for Wyze cameras, you'll now get hints about their lax security measures on page 2 instead of page 3:

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Not sure if this is an improvement for every search, partly because Google's modules can be useful and partly because the company doesn't give up on self-promotion just because you hit the 'web' button . Here you can see that Google still decides the top position for 'Google AR glasses' and the 'Top stories' box is arguably a useful addition:

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Which of the following results helps to better understand the Maui wildfire?

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And when it comes to asking Google who wrote The Lord of the Rings, is there any reason why you wouldn't want to have Google's full knowledge graph at your disposal?

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Admittedly, that's an answer that Google can hardly get wrong.

The order of Google search results seems to be the same regardless of whether you choose 'web' or 'all'. It didn't block links to YouTube videos, Reddit posts, or SEO. and sponsored ads from Amazon, Verkada, and Wyze pushed down search results:

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'Web' is just a filter that removes Google's knowledge panels, featured snippets, and Shopping modules — as well as the new AI Overviews, Google spokesperson Ned Adriance confirmed to The Verge. 'AI Overviews are a feature in Search, like knowledge panels or featured snippets, so they won't appear when someone uses a web filter to search' .

It doesn't fix some of the problems Google's search engine has. But it's a plus for those upset by some of the moves that seem to favor Google, and a way to maintain the spirit of "top 10 organic results appearing on search engines" , even as Google's AI efforts try to leave them behind.

Danny Sullivan of Google, says he's been asking for things like this for years:

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As a next step, perhaps Google should promote this button and make it more visible. The company now warns that this button may not always appear in the list of main options on the desktop - it may be necessary to click 'More' then 'Web'.

Samuel Daniel

Update 16 May 2024