Google Search rolling out ‘Perspectives’ filter for more personal and human results

Abner Li | Jun 23 2023 - 2:30 pm PT

While SGE was the big Search development out of I/O 2023, Google also announced “Perspectives,” and the filter is now rolling out.

“Perspectives” is a dedicated Google Search filter that helps you find “information from people on forums and social media sites.” On eligible queries that “benefit from the experiences of others,” the tab appears alongside Images, Maps, and other topic-based filters.

It includes “long- and short-form videos, images, and written posts that people have shared on discussion boards, Q&A sites, and social media platforms.”

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You’ll see YouTube videos of all lengths, as well as posts from TikTok, Reddit, Quora, and more. YouTube Shorts and longer videos have the benefit of opening within Search, while others open full pages as usual.

The UI for this on mobile uses cards shown side-by-side in a scrollable feed. At the bottom of each one, you get “more details about the creators of this content, such as their name, profile photo, or information about the popularity of their content.”

One query that we’ve gotten to trigger Perspectives is “What to eat in [city],” while Google’s I/O example was “How to make friends in a new city.”

… shows you a page of results with advice from other people, like personal stories told through video, or tips from commenters in a forum thread.

These Perspectives are also found in Top Stories, which launched alongside About this Author earlier this year.

At I/O, Google also said it will roll out an update in the coming months that “more deeply understands content created from a personal or expert point of view, allowing us to rank more of this useful information on Search.” The company is working to make it so that Search is better at surfacing “hidden gems.”