I've noticed more students using the AI Overview at the top of a Google search as their answer, rather than actually visiting the websites underneath it.
It's understandable. When an AI-generated summary appears immediately, it can feel like there's no reason to look any further.
But there's a problem with that.
If students always accept the first answer Google gives them, they're missing an important part of learning: how to find, compare and evaluate information for themselves.
And there's a simple feature teachers can introduce to help.
It's called Google Web.
What is Google Web search?
Google Web is a search option that displays a simpler list of website links rather than the usual mixture of search features and AI Overviews.
When students search on Google, they can select the Web option from the search filters.
Here's how:
Search for a topic on Google as usual.
Look at the tabs near the top of the search results, such as All, Images and Maps.
Select More.
Choose Web from the list.
Students will then see a more traditional list of website links without the AI Overview at the top.
It's a small change, but it creates a useful opportunity to teach students how to research information rather than simply consume an AI-generated summary.
Why students need to practise searching for information
Research is more than typing a question into Google and copying the first answer.
Students need opportunities to develop the skills involved in finding information and deciding what to do with it.
That includes:
Finding relevant sources: Identifying websites that actually address the question they're researching.
Comparing information: Looking at what different websites say and identifying similarities or differences.
Checking credibility: Considering who created the information, their expertise and whether the source is reliable.
Reading beyond the summary: Opening the original website and understanding the information in its full context.
Making their own judgement: Using the evidence they've found to form their own conclusions.
These are important digital literacy skills, and they become even more valuable as AI becomes a bigger part of how we access information.
The problem with relying on AI Overviews
AI Overviews can be useful. They can provide a quick starting point and help people get a general understanding of a topic.
But an AI-generated summary shouldn't automatically become the final answer.
Students still need to understand where information comes from, whether it is accurate and whether important context has been left out.
An AI-generated response can sound confident without giving students enough information to assess the quality of the answer.
If students don't visit the original sources, they may miss important details, alternative perspectives or information that challenges what the summary says.
This is why we need to teach students to question the information they receive, including information generated by AI.
How teachers can use Google Web in the classroom
Google Web is a simple way to introduce a broader conversation about research and critical thinking.
Rather than just showing students where to find the setting, teachers can use it as part of a classroom activity.
For example, give students a research question and ask them to find information from three different websites.
Then ask them to consider:
Who published each website?
What evidence does each source provide?
Are the sources saying the same thing?
Is there information missing from any of the explanations?
Which source would they trust most, and why?
Students can then compare their findings with an AI-generated summary of the same topic.
The aim isn't to prove that AI is always wrong or that traditional search is always better.
It's to help students recognise that different ways of finding information have different strengths and limitations.
Most importantly, they need to understand that they are responsible for evaluating what they find.
AI literacy and digital literacy go hand in hand
When we talk about AI literacy in schools, it's easy to focus on teaching students how to use AI tools.
How to write a prompt.
How to generate an answer.
How to use AI to complete a task.
But students also need to develop the human skills that help them decide whether an answer is worth trusting.
That includes critical thinking, curiosity, research skills and the ability to recognise reliable information.
These skills don't become less important because AI can generate an answer quickly. They become more important.
Students need to understand when AI can help them, when they should look for information elsewhere and when they need to make their own judgement.
A simple change that can make a difference
Showing students Google Web takes very little time.
But it can open up a much bigger conversation about how we find and evaluate information online.
We want students to become confident researchers who can question what they see, check the sources behind the information and make informed decisions.
AI can be a useful tool in that process.
But it shouldn't replace the opportunity for students to develop those skills themselves.
That's an important part of building digital and AI literacy in schools.
