Google is updating its “about this result” feature for search results with an interesting new addition: context about how and why the company’s algorithm landed on the specific results for the links that it surfaces when you search for things.
The company added the “about this result” information box earlier this year as a way to help users properly vet sources that they weren’t familiar with using data sourced from Wikipedia. The menu — accessed by clicking the triple dots at the corner of a search result— pops up and tries to provide additional background information about a website.
The update that’s rolling out today, though, doesn’t add more context about websites that might appear in search results, but rather helps shine a light inward on Google’s algorithm and how it links search terms to specific sites.
In an example provided by Google, a search for “how to cook fish in the oven” lands on a recipe from a site that included the words “how, cook, fish, and oven” and were related to other terms like “ingredients” and “recipe.” Google also does things like matching language and applying relevant geographic locations to help land on the specific result.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22733303/how_to_cook_fish_in_the_oven.png)
The company explains that the goal here is to help users who may not be as familiar with Google’s search system to understand a little bit more about what’s going on behind the scenes when they search and to use that knowledge to help them make better searches to find what they’re looking for in the future.
The updated results should be rolling out to users now. To start, it’ll be available for English language results in the US, but Google hopes to expand availability in the coming months.
