Google Search testing new ‘Short videos’ Search carousel

Damien Wilde | Dec 30 2020 - 5:14 am PT

A few months ago, we saw Google begin surfacing “Short Videos” in a Discover panel but it now looks as though this test has been expanded to Search.

Previously, this panel within Google Discover would showcase or highlight content from sites such as Instagram and TikTok within a scrollable carousel on Android devices. However, the expansion of these new Short Videos to Google Search means that on desktop you may see a dedicated panel when searching for specific subjects.

The new Short videos option was first spotted within Google Search by Search Engine Roundtable after being hinted at over on Twitter by Brian Freiesleben (h/t TechCrunch) and we were able to activate the panel by using the search term “packers” within the Google app. Although the “Short videos” section within Search is only available on our devices after scrolling down way past the current Knowledge Base section and many of the other portions. At the moment, no YouTube Shorts video clips are surfaced, showing only TikTok and Instagram content.

Should you select one of the “Short videos” within this Google Search carousel section, you’ll be taken to the app in question provided they are installed on your device. It will simply open another tab if not. In our case, it opened the dedicated TikTok app, but for some reason, it did not open Instagram — even though it is installed on several test devices.

A spokesperson told TechCrunch that the Short videos within Search “feature was currently being piloted on mobile devices” which means that not everyone out there will see the option. It’s not clear just how widely this new Search panel is available, nor is it clear if it will become a permanent fixture in the future given Google’s official response.

However, with short-form video becoming a very prominent fixture in some of the biggest social networks and the rise of platforms like TikTok, we’d expect to see more options like this within Google Search results pages.

If you have the prominent Short videos panel within the Google app or within Google Search on your device, be sure to let us know down in the comments section below.