Google is adding a few new features to the search engine, such as a new way to review query responses and display trending searches. Google is also testing a new display for visual stories.
So let’s start with the main reason that each of us knows Google in the first place: the search engine. Google search has repeatedly been hailed as the savior of college students, undergraduates, postgraduates, college professors, and doctoral candidates struggling with their thesis defenses. Research is literally synonymous with seeking and often finding answers. Therefore, it makes sense that Google is doing everything to do it more efficiently. After you google something, the search engine will identify the keywords in a query and then compile a list of common questions focused on those keywords. Not only that, but clicking on those questions will bring up the first search result for those questions, with the specific paragraph containing the relevant keywords. It’s a quick way to answer questions without even necessarily asking them directly in the first place. However, responses are often short snippets of the first search result, which means responses are often incomplete or cut off.
The first new addition, spotted by Valentin pletzer looking is the presence of longer responses to predicted queries. Now, by clicking on a query, Google will offer users the option to expand the answer. This will provide a large portion of the web page, allowing individuals to browse the answers more correctly and possibly avoid having to go through all the other links on the Google search page in order to find the answer they are looking for. Either way, it’s a rather minor convenience that has been added to the mix, but it’s still a very useful feature that adds more depth to the search engine and what it offers.
Another new addition, according to Jason mandragona, is how the most common searches are displayed in Google search. Typically, trending searches appear as a list, mostly right before you start typing anything into Google, but this time they appear as a fixed widget, with very little text. presentation added under each trending topic. It’s not a bad method of showing trending searches, but it looks a bit messy and takes up an excessive amount of space. Again, the new interface is not the most interesting either. Now, trend searches are displayed as small icons, placed in rows of three or less. The presentation texts are no longer present, since searches are now displayed only by keywords and nothing else. It takes away a user’s ability to rate anything on the trending topic, until they click on it.
Finally, visual stories were displayed two in a row, with preview images taking up more space in the Google Assistant app. However, some trial versions of the feature reveal three- and four-grid versions of the screen, allowing users to engage and notice more content.
H / T: @brodieseo
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