Google overhauls search to show more pictures, videos and context

Google overhauls(ˌōvərˈhôl) search to show more pictures, videos and context(ˈkänˌtekst)

By Hamza(ä) Shaban

Google has unveiled(ˌənˈvāl) a host of updates to its search product, designed(dəˈzīn) to make visual(ˈviZHo͞oəl) information more useful(ˈyo͞osfəl) as pictures and video become more central(ˈsentrəl) to the Internet experience.

The new features showing up in searches include introductory(ˌintrəˈdəktərē) videos about public figures(ˈfigyər), topic videos to help users plan trips(trip) or learn about new subjects, and an overhaul of its ranking system for displaying image-based searches, offering users more context and easier ways to shop online.

Previously a stand-alone app, Google Lens uses artificial(ˌärtəˈfiSHəl) intelligence(inˈtelijəns) to identify the contents of a picture without needing words to figure out what it is. Now, Google will integrate(ˈin(t)əˌɡrāt) Lens directly into searches “to make your search experience more visual,” Cathy Edwards, director of engineering for Google Images, said in a blog post. She said the goal of these changes was to help users find information visually and improve specific(spəˈsifik) image-oriented(ˈôrēˌənt) searches: when people shop for products, look for interior(inˈti(ə)rēər)-decorating(ˈdekəˌrāt) inspiration(ˌinspəˈrāSHən
) or tackle(ˈtakəl) DIY projects.

The updates highlight the shift from text(tekst)-based browsing to a more image-heavy Internet, now that smartphones and their smaller displays have overtaken desktop computers. “The growth of mobile devices(diˈvīs) and small screens made it even more important to be able to quickly scan visual results,” Edwards said.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/09/25/google-overhauls-search-show-more-pictures-videos-context/