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Google Analytics adds natural language search, machine learning-based tools to highlight data

Google products like Search and Photos are pretty adept at answering queries asked in plain English. It allows people to search and issue commands as if they are asking or talking with an actual person. The company is now bringing this natural language processing to work-focused applications of Google Analytics.

Users can now type or speak out (on mobile) a query like “New users from Jan 1 to May 7” and immediately be presented with the relevant piece of information in a card-like interface. More advanced questions can yield graphs and charts that offer visual comparisons.

To ask questions and get automated insights from Analytics Intelligence in our web interface, click the Intelligence button to open a side panel. In the Google Analytics mobile app for Android and iOS, tap the Intelligence icon in the upper right-hand corner of most screens.

This ability to ask questions naturally is part of a new set of “Analytics Intellgience” tools that leverage machine learning to help users better understand data. The natural language feature was born out of how this data — even basic information — is not easily discoverable due to the wealth of information recorded by Analytics.

Other machine learning-based functionality of Intelligence include smart lists, smart goals, session quality, and automated insights. In the case of the latter proactive feature, the mobile Analytics app is getting more tools that were once limited to desktop.

These suite of features are rolling out now and will become available in English to all Google Analytics users over the next few weeks.

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com