tech
The Environmental Impact of Google Search's AI Overviews
AI Overviews are becoming increasingly common in Google Search, prompting questions about energy use, transparency, user choice and the open web
TL;DR
- AI Overviews have become common in Google Search, providing AI-generated summaries above website results.
- Users value the convenience of concise answers, but the shift increases computation per query.
- A median Gemini text prompt uses 0.24 Wh of electricity, produces 0.03 g of CO₂, and uses 0.26 ml of water.
- Google's greenhouse gas emissions rose 48% between 2019 and 2023, partly due to AI workloads.
- AI Overviews can reduce clicks to websites by over a third, impacting publishers and the open web.
- Users have limited ability to disable AI Overviews, raising questions about choice and environmental costs.
- Transparency in AI's resource use and user control are crucial for mitigating environmental impacts.