Google has announced that it’s Search product will be impacted by three shifts in how the company views the function that allows people to access information that is more useful.
Ben Gomes, Google Vice President of Search, News, and Assistant, talked about the shifts in a recent blog post noting that:
“When Google started 20 years ago, our mission was to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. That seemed like an incredibly ambitious mission at the time…Fast forward to today, and now we index hundreds of billions of pages in our index—more information than all the libraries in the world could hold.”
From Answers to Journeys
The shifts include moving from answers to journeys, to knowing in advance what a query may be based on machine learning and a deeper embrace of visual content instead of text.
The first shift relates to Google accessing data from its hardware and software products to determine the routines and schedules of its users. Using this, it will reward advertisers and agencies that focus on the life journey or routine of a user, offering them the information they need to make an informed decision.
The technology company has turned to its pool of data that offers scenarios, events, and routines of all types, offering advertisers the opportunity to inject themselves in the lives of current and prospective customers.
The second shift relates to the machine learning investments by Google, specifically a humble brag on the capabilities around query prediction. The participation on an enterprise level with initiatives such as the Data Transfer Project means that Google will trade and gain data from direct and indirect competitors. Using this, it will work its way through the data to map a journey across platforms.
With time, it expects its hardware and software to offer suggestions on next steps and actions, a functionality that is in demand according to a new report from iProspect. Advertisers that port first-party customer data for custom profiles may be aiding Google in identifying trends in queries as well.
The third shift relates to opening Google to audiences in emerging markets where literacy challenges continue to be barricaded to Search access. Removing text-based search means that users can search by uploading an image taken or making a query with their voice, giving strength to machine learning.
