Google tweaks AI Mode to highlight recipe creators, but food writers remain wary

Do you often use Google Search to find new recipes to try? Looking up the instructions for your next meal in AI Mode will now look a little different. Google has rolled out a visual refresh, but not everyone is sold on the update.

The VP of Product for Google Search, Robby Stein, has shared some details on a change to AI Mode. On the social media platform X, the executive revealed that Google has updated how recipes appear after submitting an AI Mode query. Now, when you search for a recipe, links will be more prominent, appearing at the top of responses.

In the example above, the links appear in a carousel. These links are accompanied by details, such as the creator’s name, recipe ratings, and the number of ingredients. You’ll also see images of the meal you’re looking to create.

For the average user, the update is designed to make it easier to discover and visit recipe websites. At the same time, it’s also meant to assuage the concerns of the people behind these recipes, as AI Overviews and AI Mode can steal traffic from these pages.

Despite the more prominent placement of links, not every food writer is on board yet. As one commenter argues, “The full AI recipe ranges from verbatim plagiarism to wildly inaccurate representations of our recipes, videos, and photos.” However, the user admits that this change is a step in the right direction.