Google is now showing AI-generated images directly within AI Overviews. Google announced this last month, writing: “To help bring those unique ideas to life, we’re bringing image generation directly into AI Overviews in Search.”
We’re now starting to see this play out in actual search results.
Here is how it looks.
Inspired Taste shared a reaction to this on X after spotting it while updating their own spaghetti squash recipe. he wrote:
“We were updating our spaghetti squash recipe today, and while searching for ourselves in Google, we were shown an AIO with AI step cartoons. We specifically have an entire section in our article and recipe video demonstrating how to safely cut the squash (which can be dangerous), add a ton more flavor with herbs, and show how you can cook your squash much faster in the microwave. This AIO is directly trying to replace creators who buy groceries for testing, photography, and filming recipe videos. We also have conversations with our visitors who have questions. We are doing all of the work, and Google is directly trying to oversimplify everything and replace us with AIOs like this. There is also risk that a searcher might think that one of the websites cited in the AIO did the illustrations. It is very confusing and extremely oversimplified.”
This reaction highlights a concern that’s likely to resonate with a lot of content creators, especially in the recipe and how-to space. AI-generated illustrations replacing the detailed, tested work that creators put into their content from safety tips to cooking techniques raises real questions about how much of that original effort gets recognized, or replaced, once AI Overviews start generating their own visuals.
There’s also the point raised about attribution confusion if a searcher assumes a cited website created the AI-generated illustrations shown in the AIO, that could misrepresent where the actual content and expertise came from.
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