Google will notify people when it thinks their search results may not be a good match with a query
- The messages will notify users when their results aren’t very helpful
- It may also recommend re-tailoring the search for better results
- Google says the message is currently rolling out in the US
Google want to give users a heads up when it thinks their search results are missing the mark.
The tech giant announced that it will be including notices on search results that it determines may be of dubious helpfulness.
‘We’ve probably all gone through this before: you do a search for something, and the results just don’t seem to be related to what you were looking for,’ writes Google in a blog post.
‘Starting today in the U.S., we’re rolling out a new message that lets you know when Google hasn’t been able to find anything that matches your search particularly well.’
Messages like the one’s pictured will begin showing up in Google Search results to notify users when their query hasn’t netted helpful information
Google says that it will still allow users to scroll through the results and in addition to warning them that their search may not have been as productive as they had hoped, it will sometimes provide ‘alternative’ searches that could produce better results.
‘When possible, the feature will also provide some alternative searches as well as on how you could reformulate your query to better find the information you seek,’ writes Google.
According to Google, the notification shouldn’t show up too often since Search is designed to actually net viable results, but could help help users avoid going down a rabbit hole in the instances where information is sparse.
‘If it turns out that what you were hoping to find just isn’t on the web at all, you can always check back later to see if anyone has created a new article or posted new information that you’ll find helpful,’ writes Google.
The messages will augment other tools used by Google like notifications when search results don’t turn up any result and others that show when keywords are missing from a result.
Google said it is always tinkering with its Search algorithm to make it more accurate and prevent instances where users are unable to find results.