Google Discover which was announced on Google’s 20th Anniversary, has been made live for US version of Google’s Homepage. Google Discover, is a smart, dynamic newsfeed that shows headlines, sports scores, and news articles based on users’ interests.
This feature was first discovered by popular tech news site 9to5Google. Users will be able to view information cards below the search bar on Google’s website when they access the site through their smartphones.
The cards will show useful news information that is trending on their search page but will also show weather forecasts, sports results, and articles based on users’ interests, hobbies and search history.
It is a big change for Google, a risky change I would say. On the one hand, users will highly likely be able to see all relevant information without having to search for it extensively. On the other hand, it makes the homepage a bit cluttered and unkempt as before.
So the risk here is, do the pros outweigh the con? Well, this depends entirely on the user and will vary quite significantly from user to user. Currently, Google Discover can be viewed only via Chrome and Safari browsers. The service is only available in the US as of now.
Discover’s International release is yet to be confirmed. The smartphone version of Google Chrome already shows similar posts and info, when users open a new tab. Google is trying to predict users’ searches, without them having to search for anything.
So the Silicon Valley giant is trying to make people’s lives easier but at the cost of simplicity.
Google Discover started its early life as Google Now, then transformed itself into Google Feed, before reaching its current state. Who knows how long Google decides to stick with this name.
Google Now did seem less obtrusive though, as it minded its own business.
By which I mean if users wanted to access the feature, they had to swipe their smartphone screens to the left. Google Feed was announced back in July 2017. In September of this year, it was announced that Google Feed would be rebranded it with a new name, visual design, and features; Google Discover came into existence.
Google’s Vice President of Search, News and Assistant Ben Gomes said,
We can surface relevant information related to your interests, even when you don’t have a specific query in mind.
As of this month, Google revealed that 800 million users rely on the Discover feature each month.
Not only is this a good source of information for users, many news publishers, journalists, and media houses rely on Google Discover to get the big break. Everyone is competing to get their news website’s name on the top.
It is a huge deal for the publisher even if a single article gets showcased on Google Discover, so many people’s livelihood matters on this feature. If you like it or not, the feature is here to stay it seems. It generates a lot of money for Google and news publishers all over the world.
Fazeel Ashraf
Amnah Fawad
