Why Google wants search results to look like social media - 0 views
-
Tom McHale on 13 Nov 18"IMAGE: AFP/GETTY IMAGES BY KARISSA BELL SEP 24, 2018 For all its behind-the-scenes innovation, Google Search has looked more or less the same for the last 20 years: You type some words in a search box and get back a list of links. The company's added lots of bells and whistles over the years, but the core concept has remained the same and the experience has pretty much looked the same. But that will soon be changing. SEE ALSO: Google Search gets a slew of new features on its 20th anniversary At an event marking the 20th anniversary of search, Google revealed a suite of updates that are meant to fundamentally change the way we search, and how search results look and feel. You'll still see lists of links but, increasingly you'll also see features typically thought of as being squarely in the territory of social media companies: news feeds, vertical video, photo-centric content, and, yes, Stories. A quick recap of some of the specific updates: Google's personalized feed feature, now called "Discover," will be rolling out to all mobile users and to its homepage on desktop. The feed surfaces content based on your interests and search history. You can also save stuff from your feed to topic-based "collections." The company is "doubling down," on Stories, which will start to appear more frequently in search results. In addition to the publisher-created AMP Stories (Mashable is a partner on the initiative), Google will now use AI to automatically create tappable Stories about specific topics, like celebrities. Google Images is getting a total overhaul, including a new ranking algorithm that will emphasize "evergreen content," like recipes and DIY content. Google Lens will be integrated directly into Google Images so you can search for specific items within photos."