At first I assumed that these were AI-generated (and I wrote that in an earlier version of this piece), but on Tuesday afternoon, I heard from a publisher who said the text may come from Google News Showcase, a tool that lets participating publishers package their content for Google’s products. On Tuesday evening Google confirmed that the bullet points are indeed from News Showcase.
The bullet-pointed articles appear somewhat randomly. On Tuesday, I saw them on two Wall Street Journal investigations, a Boston.com best lobster roll list, and a MarketWatch financial advice column.
The bullet points for the MarketWatch and Boston.com stories don’t give anything away (none of the best lobster roll locations are revealed, for instance) and probably wouldn’t deter someone from clicking through. Some of the bullet points encourage clicks: “Read more about the potentially far-reaching implications of Sunday’s onslaught,” reads the bullet point on one of the Journal pieces.
I reported last year that Google Discover — a personalized, mobile-only product, found primarily in the Google app or when you open a new tab in Google Chrome — is sending news publishers an increasing amount of traffic, especially as social referrals fall. (It may be many news publishers’ top source of traffic.) Discover is “increasingly a very viable space for news coverage, including breaking news coverage,” Anne Look Thiam, head of audience development, global digital news, and streaming at BBC Studios, said in a panel at the Online News Association conference last September.
Google Discover also appears to be testing a News Headlines module.
The changes to Discover come as the U.S. Department of Justice, wrapping up its antitrust lawsuit against Google, is considering limiting or banning the company’s expanded use of its AI products. A federal judge found last year that Google has a monopoly in search. “The reason we are so focused on Gen AI is because that is the new search access point,” Justice Department lawyer David Dahlquist said last week, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. “That is a gateway to search.”
This post has been updated to clarify that the bullet point summaries may not be AI-generated.
