You type a question into Google, and instead of the usual list of blue links, you see a short paragraph answering your question right at the top of the page. That paragraph was written by AI, not by a person, and not by any single website.
This is one of the biggest changes to search in years, and it can be confusing if nobody has explained it to you. It is also not just a Google thing anymore. Tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT now search the web and write you an answer too, instead of handing you a list of pages to click through.
This guide explains what an AI search engine actually does, how it is different from a normal search, and why it is worth double checking what it tells you before you rely on it.
What Is an AI Search Engine?
An AI search engine reads several web pages on your topic and writes you a short summary, instead of just handing you a list of links to click through yourself.
Regular search engines have worked roughly the same way for 25 years. You type a question, and the search engine hands back a ranked list of web pages that seem to match it. You pick a page, open it, and read it yourself.
An AI search engine adds an extra step. Before it shows you that list, it has an AI model read the top matching pages and write a short answer in plain sentences, right at the top of the results. Google calls this feature AI Overviews. It launched to everyone in the United States on May 14, 2024, at Google’s yearly developer event, and Google said at the time that more countries would follow, with a goal of reaching over a billion people by the end of that year, according to Google’s own announcement.
Plain talk: AI Overview
An AI Overview is the paragraph of text that Google’s AI writes at the top of some search results, based on several web pages. It sits above the regular list of links, which is still there underneath it.
How Google’s AI Overviews Work
AI Overviews are built on a version of Google’s Gemini AI model, connected to Google’s regular search system. Google has explained that the feature is designed to pull only from what real, indexed web pages already say, then link back to them, rather than making things up the way a general chatbot might. That is one reason AI Overviews usually include a handful of small links inside or below the summary text.
If you want a broader introduction to how this kind of technology works, our guide to explaining AI to an older person is a good place to start before you dig into search specifically.
How Is This Different From a Regular Search?
The table below shows the main differences you will notice.
| Regular search results | AI Overview | |
|---|---|---|
| What you see first | A list of web page titles and links | A written paragraph, then the list of links |
| Where the answer comes from | You choose which page to open and read | The AI has already read several pages for you |
| How you check it | Open the page and read it in full | Click the small links inside the summary |
| How it is written | Not written at all, it is a list | Written in sentences by an AI model |
The list of links has not gone away. It is usually still there, just further down the page, or reached by scrolling past the AI Overview or tapping a filter such as Web.
Why You Should Double Check What an AI Overview Says
Double check an AI Overview because it can misread a source, even though it usually gets the basics right.
Soon after AI Overviews launched to everyone, some widely shared examples showed the system giving odd answers, such as treating a joke post from an online forum as serious advice. Google responded publicly a few weeks later, explaining that its AI had, in some cases, misunderstood satire or pulled from a single unreliable forum post instead of a more trustworthy source. Google said it made more than a dozen technical changes afterward to reduce these kinds of mistakes, including better detection of nonsensical or joke questions and extra care around health topics.
Google’s own help page for AI Overviews is direct about this. It states plainly that AI Overviews “can and will make mistakes,” and it recommends that you always check important information in more than one place, click through to the supporting links, and try a regular search too if something seems off.
Safety tip
Never rely on an AI Overview alone for a health, legal or money decision. Click through to the actual source, or check with a doctor, pharmacist, bank or licensed advisor first. If you want a deeper look at using AI around health questions specifically, see our guide on asking AI about medical questions safely.
Try this
Next time you see an AI Overview, look for the small numbered links woven into the text or listed underneath it. Tap one and read the original page. It only takes a minute, and it tells you whether the summary matched what the source actually said.
Perplexity and Other AI Search Tools
Google is not the only company building AI into search. Perplexity is a separate website and app built entirely around this idea, sometimes described as an answer engine rather than a search engine. Its own homepage describes it as “a free AI-powered answer engine that provides accurate, trusted, and real-time answers to any question.” You type a question, and Perplexity searches the web, then replies with a written answer and a numbered list of the sources it used, similar to footnotes.
ChatGPT, the popular AI chatbot, added a similar web search feature in the autumn of 2024. When you ask ChatGPT something that needs current information, such as recent news or today’s weather, it can search the web and answer with links to where it found the information, instead of relying only on what it already knew.
Plain talk: answer engine
An answer engine is a search tool built to give you one written answer to your question, with sources attached, rather than a long list of links to sort through yourself.
Type or say this
“Where did you get that information? Can you show me the source?”
Typing or saying something like this to an AI search tool often makes it point you straight to the page or study behind its answer, which makes it much easier to check.
Tips for Using AI Search Safely
- Read the summary, but do not stop there. Treat it as a starting point, the same way you would treat advice from a stranger who seems well informed.
- Check the small links. Most AI Overviews and answer engines include links to their sources. Open at least one before you act on the answer.
- Scroll past it if you prefer the old way. The regular list of search results is usually still on the page, just below the AI Overview.
- Ask a follow-up question. If an answer seems off, ask the tool to explain further or to name its source. This often reveals a mistake right away.
- Be extra careful with health, legal and money topics. These are the areas where a wrong AI summary can cause the most harm, and where a second opinion matters most.
- Use the feedback button if something looks wrong. Google and most other AI search tools have a small thumbs down or feedback option under the AI answer, which helps them fix mistakes for everyone.
Getting comfortable with these habits does not take long, and it works the same way whether you are using Google, Perplexity, ChatGPT or whatever AI search tool your grandchildren show you next. If you would like a wider grounding in how these tools fit into everyday life, our guide on what seniors should know about AI covers the bigger picture, and our explainer on Google’s shift from Assistant to Gemini is useful if you also use Google Assistant on your phone.
Where to go from here
AI search tools are becoming the normal way most people search the web, and that is not likely to reverse. The habits in this guide, reading past the summary, checking a source, and being extra careful with health and money questions, will keep you on solid ground no matter which search tool you end up using. For a fuller, large-print introduction to AI written specifically for older adults, see our book AI for Seniors.
