Google's Thematic Search Patent: Reshaping the Future of Search
Google filed a patent in December 2024 for "Thematic Search," a system closely resembling its AI Mode's Query Fan-Out technique. This new system organizes search results into thematic clusters with AI-generated summaries, potentially revolutionizing how users interact with search results and impacting content strategies.
How Thematic Search Works
Thematic Search uses a large language model and a summary generator. It analyzes traditional search results, identifies key themes, and creates concise summaries for each theme. This allows users to quickly grasp information without clicking through multiple links.
This system handles broad or complex queries by generating additional searches based on sub-themes, mirroring the Query Fan-Out technique. This deeper exploration of subtopics provides users with more comprehensive information.
“In some examples…the thematic search engine may generate narrower themes (e.g., sub-themes)…from the responsive documents…The process may continue, where selection of a sub-theme…may cause the thematic search engine to obtain another set of search results…and may generate narrower themes…and so forth.”
This approach aligns with Google's documentation on Query Fan-Out, which emphasizes concurrent searches across subtopics and data sources for more comprehensive results.
Impact on Search Results and SEO
Thematic Search shifts the focus from traditional ranking to thematic clustering. Instead of a ranked list, users see grouped themes with summaries. This change impacts which sites receive traffic, as clicks may go to pages relevant to sub-themes rather than the top-ranked result for the initial query.
The AI-generated summaries combine content from multiple sources, making link attribution and traffic prediction more complex. While the patent mentions linking to source URLs, the emphasis on thematic summaries could increase zero-click searches, potentially reducing traffic from traditional links.
The summary generator utilizes document titles, metadata, and surrounding content. Well-structured content may influence summary creation, highlighting the importance of optimized content.
Implications for Content Strategy
Thematic Search necessitates a shift in content strategy. Instead of solely focusing on keyword rankings, content creators should consider the questions their pages answer and anticipate related follow-up questions. Addressing these related queries within the page or creating separate pages for sub-themes could be crucial for attracting traffic in this evolving search landscape.
Thematic Search presents both challenges and opportunities for publishers and SEOs. While zero-click searches may decrease traffic, understanding and adapting to the thematic approach could lead to capturing users further down their information journey.
