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Byte-sized AI: AI overviews and using personas
I’m back for another Byte-sized AI issue, and as promised here are my three things: đ
- Something techy from the news
- Something that made me laugh
- Something that you can do to improve how you work
đ° The one item of news:
AI in search
Google has completely transformed how search works, and it’s happening whether you’re ready or not.
You’ve probably noticed those new AI-generated summaries that pop up at the top of Google search results, they’re called “AI Overviews,” and they’re now being used by over a billion people. But here’s the thing that’ll make you sit up and pay attention: they’re changing how people search and, more importantly, how they find businesses like yours.
The numbers are quite remarkable. In markets where AI Overviews are established, Google’s seeing a 10% increase in usage for the types of searches that trigger these summaries. People are asking more complex questions and searching more often because they’re getting better answers.
What’s this got to do with you? Well, AI Overviews take up nearly half the screen on mobile and 42% on desktop. That pushes traditional search results way down the page, which means your website might be getting buried even if your SEO is spot-on.
But here’s the interesting bit: whilst some businesses are reporting traffic drops, others are seeing increases. When Google’s AI features your content in these overviews, you often get higher-quality clicks from people who are more engaged and spend more time on your site.
Google has also launched something called “AI Mode” – think of it as search on steroids. Instead of typing multiple searches to compare products or services, people can ask complex questions like “what’s the difference between various accounting software for small businesses under ÂŁ50 per month” and get a comprehensive answer with links to relevant sites.
The clever bit is that AI Mode uses what Google calls “query fan-out”, essentially, it runs multiple searches behind the scenes and pulls together a detailed response. It’s like having a very efficient research assistant that never gets tired.
For businesses, this creates both challenges and opportunities. The challenge? You need to make sure your content is the sort that AI finds useful and trustworthy. The opportunity? If you get it right, you could appear in searches you never would have ranked for before.
Google’s been refreshingly honest about the teething problems too. AI Overviews have occasionally given some spectacularly wrong answers (like recently claiming it wasn’t 2025), but they’re getting better fast.
The takeaway? Search isn’t going backwards. People love getting quick, comprehensive answers, and Google’s doubling down on AI to provide them. If your business relies on people finding you through search, and whose doesn’t?, it’s worth understanding how this brave new world works.
đ The one thing that made me laugh:
AI in search gone wrong
But⌠If youâve been around a while, youâll have seen me say âDonât trust the output of AI! Check it!â
There is an image going around of someone asking Google how to clean a rescued pigeon.
This might be how to prepare it for roasting, which would not be what was asked at all. But even thatâs not clear.
đĄ The one thing you can do next week:
Tell AI what you do
Let’s talk about something that’ll make your AI tools about ten times more useful: personas. It’s like giving your AI assistant a proper job description and the difference it makes is like night and day.
You wouldn’t ask your accountant for decorating advice, would you? Same principle applies to AI. When you give it a clear role to play, it suddenly knows exactly what kind of help you’re after.
Most people just fire questions at ChatGPT like they’re shouting into the void. “How do I write a better email?” That’s a bit like asking “How do I cook food?” technically a question, but not very helpful.
Instead, try this: “You are a professional communications specialist. I need to write an email to a client who’s behind on their payments, but I want to maintain a good relationship. Help me strike the right tone.”
See what happened there? Now the AI knows it’s crafting professional correspondence that needs to be firm but friendly. You’ll get proper suggestions about language, structure, and approaches you might not have thought of.
Here’s another one. Don’t ask “How do I create a chart in Excel?” Try: “You are an experienced data analyst helping a small business owner who’s not particularly technical. I need to create a simple chart from my sales data that I can show to my bank manager. Walk me through this step-by-step.”
The beauty of personas is you can create them for anything. Social media help? “You are a social media manager for professional services firms.” Writing a proposal? “You are a business development specialist with 15 years’ experience in my industry.”
Pro tip: be specific about constraints. “You are a small business accountant who understands that your clients don’t have huge budgets and need practical solutions.” This stops the AI suggesting enterprise-level nonsense that costs a fortune.
You can even give your persona some personality. “You are a patient IT trainer who’s brilliant at explaining technical stuff without using jargon.”
Here’s the really clever bit: you can switch personas mid-conversation. Start with a technical expert to understand how something works, then switch to “You are now a trainer helping me explain this to my team.” Same information, completely different angle.
Once you find personas that work for your regular tasks, save them as templates. Build up a little collection of your favourite “digital assistants” and you’ll get consistently better results.
Give it a go with your next AI chat. It’s like the difference between asking a random person for directions versus asking a local cabbie who knows all the shortcuts.
If you are interested to find out how AI, automation and all things clever can help your organisation why not take a look at Future Workplace, our super special IT consultancy service that can supercharge productivity, business efficiency and so much more.
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Check out past Byte-sized AI issues:
- Byte-sized AI: AI overviews and using personasAI in search is here, some of it great, some not! đ Plus, make your AI tools ten times better.
- Byte-sized AI: Numbers tell a storyDevelop your team for AI, Copilot for Notebook and pining for the fjords!
- Byte-sized AI: Lost in an open plan area!Find out what Nick has been up to at the Kent and Medway Business Summit and have you tried triple promoting.
- Byte-sized AI: AI actFind out how AI is being kept in check, decide if AI is funny, and have you started going loopy!
- Byte-sized AI: AI opportunitiesÂŁ7 million, belly laughs and AI distilled! What more can you want? Byte-sized AI from the mind of Nick Ellis!
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- Byte-sized AI: Granny is here to make it all better!O2 have created an AI that sounds like your gran! The obvious question is âwhy?â. Firstly, it doesnât sound like your gran specifically, that would be weird; itâs a generic gran called Daisy, complete with confusion about technology and a tendency to talk about her cat too much. Still doesnât answer why though.
- Byte-sized AI: A llama with AI and an admission!Meta are doing something very interesting. They have a set of AI models collectively called âLlamaâ which anyone can download and use in their products for free.
- Byte-sized AI: Something special is happening in the UK!The UK is doing something a bit special. The global average for businesses adopting AI to some extent is around 13%.
- Byte-sized AI: Up, up and… back down! đEvery so often in the world of tech something happens that is so astonishing, so utterly gob-smacking that we should all just stop and applaud.
- Byte-sized AI: An extra brain in the room!I’m back for another Byte-sized AI issue, and as promised here are my three things! đ
- Byte-sized AI: The machines have taken over SainsburysWelcome to the very first issue of my new technology newsletter Byte-sized AI. Each issue I will give you three things: Something techy from the news Something that made me laugh Something that you can do to improve how you work
- Byte-sized AI: Be the first to hear from NickWant to get the latest news about technology and AI, then there is only one person you need to hear from and that’s me!!
Nick Ellis
AI and Innovation Lead at Select Technology. Nick’s mission is to spread the powers of AI and Automation to all, ensuring businesses are at the forefront of innovation.