<\/p>
When Google started rewriting headlines with AI in Discover last year, it called the test \u201csmall.\u201d By the following month, it was reclassified as a feature.<\/p>
Now the same pattern is showing up in traditional search results.<\/p>
Google confirmed to The Verge (subscription required) that it\u2019s testing AI-generated headline rewrites in Search. The company described the test as \u201csmall and narrow.\u201d It\u2019s similar language to what Google used before reclassifying AI headlines in Discover as a feature.<\/p>
Multiple Verge staff members spotted rewritten headlines over the past few months. In one case, \u201cI used the \u2018cheat on everything\u2019 AI tool and it didn\u2019t help me cheat on anything\u201d appeared in results as \u201c\u2018Cheat on everything\u2019 AI tool.\u201d Another article was rewritten to \u201cCopilot Changes: Marketing Teams at it Again,\u201d phrasing the article never used.<\/p>
The test isn\u2019t limited to news sites. Google said it affects other types of websites too.<\/p>
None of the rewrites included any disclosure that Google had changed the original headline.<\/p>
Google told The Verge the goal is to \u201cidentify content on a page that would be a useful and relevant title to a users\u2019 query.\u201d The company said the test aims at \u201cbetter matching titles to users\u2019 queries and facilitating engagement with web content.\u201d<\/p>
Any broader launch may not use generative AI, the company said, but it didn\u2019t explain what the alternative would look like. The test hasn\u2019t been approved for wider rollout.<\/p>
We\u2019ve been tracking Google\u2019s treatment of Discover through several changes this year. Here\u2019s how the headline experiment played out.<\/p>
In December, Google called AI-generated headlines in Discover \u201ca small UI experiment for a subset of Discover users.\u201d By January, Google reclassified the feature. It now \u201cperforms well for user satisfaction,\u201d according to Nieman Lab\u2019s reporting.<\/p>
That\u2019s about a month from test to reclassified feature.<\/p>
During that period, Google revised its Discover guidelines alongside the February Discover core update and rolled out AI previews that show short AI-generated summaries with links. Each change added another layer of AI-mediated content between publishers and readers in Discover.<\/p>
The Search test follows the same opening move. Google describes it as small, narrow, and not approved for broader rollout.<\/p>
Title tag rewrites in search results aren\u2019t new. Google has been doing this for years using rule-based systems. An analysis of over 80,000 title tags found Google changed 61% of them. A follow-up study put that number at 76%.<\/p>
Those existing rewrites pull from elements already on the page. According to Google\u2019s title link documentation, the system draws from title elements, H1 headings, og:title meta tags, anchor text, and other on-page sources.<\/p>
The new test is different. In the Copilot example, the rewritten headline used phrasing that didn\u2019t exist anywhere in the article. That\u2019s generative AI creating new text.<\/p>
An analysis of over 400 publishers found Discover\u2019s share of Google-sourced traffic had climbed from 37% to roughly 68%. For publishers relying so heavily on Discover, AI headline rewrites becoming a feature in Search would mean losing headline control across both of their primary Google traffic sources.<\/p>
Google\u2019s title link documentation describes inputs Google may use to generate titles but doesn\u2019t include a publisher control for opting out of rewrites. And because Google doesn\u2019t disclose when a headline has been rewritten, you may not know it\u2019s happening to your content unless you check manually.<\/p>
Sean Hollister, senior editor at The Verge, wrote:<\/p>