We sometimes forget, but before being a smartphone manufacturer, a mobile software publisher and one of the largest video hosting platforms in the world, Google is above all a search engine. During its Search On event, which was held on September 28, the company was happy to recall this and show its latest innovations in this sector.
Multisearch, a hybrid research model
More than 20 years after its debut, Google wants to reinvent the way we search the web. Exit the beast text search with skilfully selected keywords: with its “multisearch” option, Google wants to make your life easier, even if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for. The new functionality makes it possible to launch a search by combining an image and text. For example, if you want to find the recipe for a dish you have in front of you, just send the photo to Google followed by the term “recipe”: the search engine will try to bring up the most appropriate results.
The company sells this feature as a way to always find the most relevant information even “when you don’t have the words to describe exactly what you are looking for“. The feature had actually been presented at the last Google I/O, but had remained confined to the American market (without being able to get rid of its “beta” label for months). The big announcement is therefore that Google will expand its multi-search functionality to over 70 languages and countries”in the coming monthsThe company did not specify exactly which languages would be affected, but French should be part of it.
Beyond hybrid search, Google also wants to turn this feature into a shopping tool on steroids. By sending the photo of a pair of sneakers followed by the term “around me“, for example, Google will try to find you all the stores that sell this specific pair in your neighborhood. In the example taken by Google in its press release, we can also see that the machine is able to flush out a tie matching a costume or shirt by just sending a photo of it Unfortunately, this “local” use of multisearch will be restricted to the United States at first.
Multisearch isn’t the only thing Google pulled out of its sleeve during its Search On event. Updates to the Google application on Android and iOS should precisely make it possible to highlight Google’s new search capabilities with dedicated shortcuts. Search suggestions should also offer more context (like a location’s weather, or a store’s opening and closing times, for example). Even more need to press Enter: everything will be directly accessible as you type. Finally, an option “about this result” will tell you if the results displayed are “personalized”, ie influenced by your search or browsing history.