Google AI search boosts city of San Diego's news narrative
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A city-run news site is gobbling up Google results for San Diego and pushing out traditional media links thanks to AI-powered search.
Why it matters: As Google shifts to AI-first search, links to that city news site regularly show up at the top of results.
- That means the city's take may be the only one readers see, which worries media watchers who fear that, as a result, all sides of an issue won't be seen.
How it works: The city's official news website, Inside San Diego, posts updates on the budget, trash fees, affordable housing developments and anything else happening in the city.
- If someone searches "San Diego budget proposal 2026," Google provides an AI overview of the budget.
- An Inside San Diego link shows up as the first reference, above actual news outlets.
Studies show that users rarely click links when using AI-assisted search.
What they're saying: The public is better served by a traditional news story that showcases multiple perspectives on an issue, Dean Nelson, a journalism professor at Point Loma Nazarene University, told Axios.
- "And that's not what you're getting from the city," he said. "You're getting what's the best possible face we can put on this, and that's not always in the public best interest."
Case in point: When controversy erupted over the so-called "H Barracks" homeless shelter in Point Loma, the city decided to write a post, San Diego spokesperson Nicole Darling told Axios.
- "There was a lot of news coverage, but nothing that really explained what it was," she said.
- But now, if you search "H Barracks," Google provides a rundown of the project, citing the city's post as its first reference.
- And if people checked out only the city's post, they wouldn't know about the controversy surrounding the project or the petition against it that earned thousands of signatures.
Darling said there was a lot of misinformation and the city put up its post to ensure the public had accurate information.
- Not everyone agrees.
"I would hardly consider the city's version of it the accurate version," Nelson said. "It's just a way to try to control the narrative."
The other side: As traditional media and the number of reporters have shrunk, the city has found there is "a real benefit in having residents get that information from us directly," Darling said.
- "Obviously, not many people are watching or reading the news, so people can subscribe to InsideSD," she said.
Yes, but: "The word I'm trying to avoid is 'propaganda,' but my mind keeps going there," Nelson said. "I don't want to presume nefarious impulses on the part of the city, but I can see why they're doing it, to get information out there and to try to head off maybe something that could be construed as critical."