By: Austin Fang

Throughout the last couple of months, Google has added more features to its search engine and maps intending to make the browser a more ‘immersive’ experience.

When you search for something on the Google search engine, you will find new results with photos, maps, advertisements, and alternative questions that are frequently asked. As opposed to normal text, these new results are more engaging and pleasing.

“We’ve continued to create more natural and intuitive ways to find information,” Google’s senior vice president, Prabhakar Raghavan, stated in a blog post.

At the 3rd annual “Search On”, an event held by Google on Wednesday, September 28, Google said that they would work more on images than text. For example, Google added a feature called Google Lens. The app allows you to search for products using a picture and keyword combinations.

Also, as stated by Nico Grant, a New York Times journalist, searches will lead to more image-based results, rather than plain text. Search results now display in a tile-based format, like Snapchat and Instagram stories.

Google also has added features to its maps, including a neighborhood “vibe check”. As a result, people without any prior knowledge of an area can get a sense of which attractions are the best based on Google reviews.

With Augmented and Virtual Reality on the horizon, customers are hoping Google will add these technologies in the future.

Since its creation in 1998, Google has been making the internet more organized.

“Google has routinely made thousands of changes to its search engine per year. While many are small, they add up to notable changes for people who use it,” said Grant in an article.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/28/technology/google-maps-immersive-search-on.html