Google announced on its blog today that it is soon rolling out the ability to view information from Gmail, Calendar, and Google+ directly in search results, providing users with a more personalized experience and an easier way to quickly look up important data across services. Some of the features have previously been available to Google Now on Android devices, but starting over the next few days English users in the US will begin seeing results for flights, reservations, and much more in Google search results on the web and mobile devices:
Ever had trouble checking your flight’s status on the go because it meant digging through your email for the flight number? Or wanted to just quickly see whether your package would arrive on time, without having to look up the tracking info first? You’ve told us it would be much easier if you could skip the fuss and just ask Google. Soon you’ll be able to find this info instantly in Google Search if it’s in your Gmail, Google Calendar or Google+. For example, just ask or type, “What’s my flight status?” or “When will my package arrive?”
The new results are triggered by queries such as “Is my flight on time?” or “my reservations” and will also work with Google’s recently introduced voice search features.
Google highlighted a few of the new results that you’ll begin seeing including flights, reservations, purchases, events, and photos from across all three services mentioned above:
Flights: Ask Google “Is my flight on time?” to get info on your upcoming flights and live status on your current flights.
Reservations: Ask for “my reservations” to see your dining plans or “my hotel” to get your hotel name and address. With one tap, you can get driving or public transit directions straight there, saving you lots of steps.
Purchases: Ask for “my purchases,” and you’ll get the status of your current orders, so you know whether your mom’s birthday present will arrive on time.
Plans: Ask Google “What are my plans for tomorrow?” to see a summary of upcoming flights, hotels, restaurant reservations and events—very useful when you’re traveling.
Photos: Say “Show me my photos from Thailand” to see the photos you uploaded to Google+. You can also ask for “my photos of sunsets” if you want to show off the shots you’ve taken over the year; Google will try to automatically recognize the type of photo you’re asking for.
Users will be able to turn off the feature for the current search session by clicking the globe icon at the top of the page, or permanently through the “Private results” section in search settings.
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