From showing flight and hotel listings above competitors in Search to releasing a trip-planning app, Google is making increasing forays into the travel industry. While Google has denied to Bloomberg that it’s becoming an online travel agent, entrenched players are expecting more direct competition.
Google introduced a feature that lets you to see the popular times of businesses and destinations in Search and Maps last year, and today that feature is getting a really cool addition: the ability to see the relative popularity of a given place in live time. Google also says it is adding the ability to see how long people usually stay at a given location as well as more specific business hours…
Rather than using a wide widget that goes across the entire display, the Google “pill” was introduced with the Pixel phones. The round design on the new widget looks interesting and unique, but the standard Google Search widget didn’t match up. Now, Google appears to be testing a new look for that widget which adopts a similar look (via Android Police)…
Remember when, a day before Google’s massive hardware event, Verizon‘s website leaked the Pixel and included a rather unspecified “Google Magic” feature? Well, that never turned out to be actually anything, unless that was the carrier’s way of referring to the Assistant.
However, that doesn’t mean that some magic hasn’t found its way to Android…
From reminding people about local elections to adding state-by-state voter registration guides, the latest civically minded addition to Google Search directs people to polling places and tells them who’s on the ballot. Both are personally customized to your location and can be accessed on mobile and desktop.
There are a lot of tricks in Google Search. So many in fact, we end up missing a lot of them. Tonight a user on Reddit has pointed out another trick, and it’s pretty awesome…
We know that Google is no stranger to silent (server side switched) testing that mysteriously and unexpectedly hits random users, but while changes to relatively niche apps like Inbox seem understandable, to see the relatively granitic Search app and the Google Now stream — which have remained largely unchanged for quite a while — even just slightly tweaked has us interested and a bit surprised…
From Doodles marking significant occasions to countless Easter Eggs, Google is quite a whimsical company. The latest fun additions add solitaire and tic-tac-toe right into Search on both mobile and desktop. Just try not to get too distracted.
If you’re a user of the internet (which you are, because you’re reading this site), then Google’s latest post to its Webmaster Central Blog is great news. If you’re a publisher or webmaster that likes to bombard users with intrusive ads, however, then you might want to look away.
In an effort to “improve the mobile search experience,” Google has announced today that it will soon begin penalizing sites in Google Search when it finds that the ads (or, more broadly, the interstitials) they serve users are too intrusive…
Google is seemingly testing a new feature in search: the ability to quickly find locations nearby with a search query. It doesn’t appear to be working for everyone, but apparently when some search for “**” (don’t forget to drop the quotation marks), users get a list business that are physically near to you…
Following improvements to Google Maps that surface interesting locales, Google Search is now showing restaurant reviews from top critics and what best-of lists (from various publishers on the web) a place has been mentioned in. In related updates, the latest Google app beta now shows weather and stock cards when triggering Now on Tap from the homescreen.
Illustrative results only …
If you’re looking forward to following the Rio Olympics, which open this week, Google has made some enhancements to ensure that the information you’re after is front and center in search results. When using the Android or iOS Google app, you’ll also be offered an option to receive automatic updates on results.
Google has announced that it will be highlighting three types of information in search results …
Throughout the 2016 Presidential campaign, Google Now has reminded people to vote in state primaries/caucuses. To help voter turnout, Search is adding a new tool that provides clear instructions on how to register in your state. Additionally, YouTube will be live streaming the Republican and Democratic National Conventions over the next two weeks.
Over the years, Knowledge Graph cards in Google Search have added a number of convenient features. The latest is a ‘Plan you visit’ section that lists how long people typically visit a place for.
If there is one thing we are sure to be part of Google‘s future — both imminent and in its long term plans — it is artificial intelligence, and, in particular, machine learning. We saw it prominently at this year’s I/O back in May, and now the company is making one addition to its portfolio that will only further the company’s ambitions….
Often times, the quickest way to confirm whether that rumble you felt was an earthquake is by checking Twitter or other social media for posts about it. As people also have a tendency to frantically search the web after major events, Google has added an earthquake card to search results that will provide a quick summary and safety tips.
From sport results to maps, Google Search now shows a lot more than just 10 blue links. Especially useful on mobile, Knowledge Graph aims to show relevant information without requiring users to click through a webpage. In an update rolling out over the next few days, Google will now surface possible medical conditions when you search for symptoms.
Back at 2014’s I/O, Google unveiled a new all-encompassing design language called Material Design, aimed at drastically reshaping the look of everything Google.
While its first implementations were seen — understandably — on Android, it took a little longer for the transition to take place on the web; we are now seeing Chrome being reworked under Material’s principles, and it now appears that the company’s stronghold, Search, may be on the verge of its long overdue redesign …
Google appears to be A/B testing a new look for desktop search results. The redesign takes many cues from mobile and places search results in individual cards. However, the bigger change displays Knowledge Graph cards inline and thus prioritizes them.
Over the past couple of years, Google has been implementing a number of AI, or machine-learning technologies, in to its products. Whether it’s intuitive search within the Photos app, better automatic thumbnail creation in YouTube, ‘Smart Reply’ in Inbox, or just straight-out beating an 18-time Go world champion, its artificial intelligent brains are being developed and honed.
With all of its incredible talent, apparently, there’s still work to be done when it comes to results from neural networks sounding and looking like naturally spoken or written human language. The solution: feeding it steamy romance…
In an updated post on the Windows blog, Microsoft has confirmed that it is removing the option to use any browser other than Edge, and any search engine other than Bing, as an integrated option within Cortana. That means if you want to use Cortana for launching web pages or for performing searches in Windows 10, you’ll no longer be able to use Google Chrome or Google Search.
Following big Google Cloud announcements at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show earlier this week, the company is announcing a new ad platform to monetize and personalize video content, as well as that live TV listings are coming to Search results.
Earlier this week, podcast listening, subscribing, and syncing features were finally added to Play Music. While that app update is still rolling out, the Google app for Android has just gained similar podcast listening features.
