Google's endless scrolling is officially coming to an end, having been introduced in October 2021. The tech giant is reportedly going back to its roots with the classic pagination bar at the bottom of the screen.

Instead of automatically displaying results that people didn't specifically request, a Google representative informed outlets that the modification enables them to deliver search results more quickly.

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(Photo : Arkan Perdana from Unsplash)

Continuous scrolling did not significantly increase user happiness levels, which Google claimed was another important element. Following the initial set of results for desktop searches, the well-known "Next" button will appear at the bottom of the page. Meanwhile, the "More results" option will be visible to mobile users, who must press it to view more pages.

Although the visual alteration is not that noticeable, the effects might be greater, particularly for websites that frequently appear on page two or near the bottom of Google's first results page.

Fewer people go past the first page now that they must click or tap to view further listings. This can result in fewer visitors to websites ranked below.

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Latest Google Search Changes

The tech giant continues reinventing Google's search page this year. Google most recently unveiled AI overviews, a technology wherein artificial intelligence summarizes data for search queries instead of displaying links to websites. Because of its problems, Google appears to be reducing its implementation even though it is more user-friendly.

As everyone knows, Google had major problems with inaccurate and misleading information when it first launched AI Overviews, and these problems have plagued the service ever since. Google subsequently acknowledged the issues with AI Overviews and stated that it is attempting to resolve them to improve the user experience moving ahead.

According to sources, the technology is currently on the platform in less than 15% of cases. This figure is significantly lower than when it was first tested under the previous name, the Search Generative Experience (SGE), where it was observed to be about 84 percent.  

The study states that if a user searches in question form and a featured screenshot is available, Google will probably provide AI overviews. Nevertheless, AI overviews are now hidden until users click or touch them, and they are only seen when users opt into the experience on Google Search.

Google Dials Back on AI Overviews

Although Google has acknowledged that its flawed technology is to blame, it is not exactly flinging AI at people now. However, the company is not giving up on having AI appear on Search. Given that Google stated that AI Overviews would be updated to resolve the problems, there might be an impending redesign. 

Artificial intelligence has a history of producing misleading information or hallucinations, which is a well-known technology issue. Google's AI Overview may have experienced this problem ever since it launched. Its mid-May launch was marred by a poor user experience prioritizing erroneous and fraudulent search summaries over conventional ones.   

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Written by Aldohn Domingo

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