Google Appoints New Head of Search to Lead AI Expansion
• Google has appointed Liz Reid as its new Head of Search, replacing Cheenu Venkatachary. Reid will report to Prabhakar Raghavan and focus on expanding AI in Search.
• Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE), which provides AI-generated summaries in search results, has already been used for billions of queries since launching in Labs in 2022. Reid hints at more SGE developments to come.
• The changes represent a unification and streamlining of Google's Search org under Reid and a heightened priority on AI in Search. Pandu Nayak moves into a Chief Scientist of Search role.
• SGE uses generative AI to summarize information found across search results and answer more complex queries, like comparisons. It aims to serve a wider range of information needs.
• Google made SGE's AI-generated source links more subtle in testing after initial prominence created a backlash over transparency.