Google made a big change at the end of March, but now they're focusing on the hype of Chat GPT and creating a chat-like interface. Google has 160 engineers working on the project called - Project Magi.

Google wants to make search more like a conversation. Imagine asking a person questions and getting answers, kind of like ChatGPT. Or think of how you interact with Alexa, but a smarter version than that. And one that can learn not just from how you conversed in the past but can learn on the fly as you are asking questions. It's the next logical step in search. We all want answers, and we want relevant answers that are adapted to us. The old-school method of seeing 10 results per page when you are just looking for an answer is what they are trying to provide.

Transactions will be able to happen on Google

Whether it is a pair of shoes or booking a flight, Google is going to start handling transactions on Google. In other words, why do you have to go to another website to buy a pair of shoes? Why can't Google just show you the pair of shoes you want based on what they know about you and then let you buy with a click of a button? From your shoe size to the color you prefer to even understanding if you need wide shoes or narrow ones. Or how different brands have different sizing. 

How does this affect payments? 

Unsure at this time, but Google Shopping focuses heavily on Google Pay. 

So, what does this mean for marketers?

There are still going to be ads. Google is a business, and they are publicly traded… which means they have no choice but to earn money, and it needs to be in a profitable way. But the way ads will work in the long run will change.
 
Think of it this way; you currently pay a cost per click for ads. On your end, you backend that out to a cost per acquisition, and then you model it out from a profit and loss perspective. If it is profitable, you spend more (or try to at least) so you can get more clicks. If it isn't profitable, reduce how much you are willing to spend per click. It's most likely that Google will shift to a cost-per-acquisition model (eventually). This makes it easy on the marketer's end and can create a better user experience. Plus, if your website isn't great, you can still make money as it is all happening on Google's end.
 
From an SEO perspective, there are always keywords that will drive traffic to your site. At one point, when you wanted to find out what the weather was, you would have to go to a site like Weather.com. But now Google just shows you the weather. Even with changes that may take clicks away from your site, overall, they have still been driving more traffic. 

Danny Sullivan states, "In reality, Google Search sends billions of clicks to websites every day, and we've sent more traffic to the open web every year since Google was first created."

We should expect these new features to increase traffic on Google, which will help counteract some of the clicks that would be taken away from your site. Plus, there will be a new form of SEO. When Google is searching for products or services to show people through Project Magi, how can you optimize your site so that they show your products and services. 

It doesn't matter as much if someone clicks on your site; what really matters is who is getting the sale. If you are, it's still a win.

Takeaway

Pretty interesting if you spend the time to research more on Project Magi. It sounds like Google is contemplating pulling traffic to them as a resource and rewarding those who optimize their sites around their new project. Plenty of articles here.