Google is rolling out changes to its featured snippets. While that text box at the top of a Google search page can be helpful, it’s also been known to spread misinformation. The tech giant announced Thursday it was rolling out its latest AI model, called the multitask unified model, in an attempt to deliver more accurate information. Google said that the model can now understand the notion of consensus, which in this case is when multiple high-quality sources all agree on the same fact. The… Source link
Read More »Google Meet’s new feature lets users consume YouTube and Spotify together – TechCrunch
As Google continues the great merger between its Duo and Meet video communications apps, the company today announced that it’s introducing new Apple SharePlay-like live-sharing features to Meet, making it easier for call-participants to engage with content together in real time. It’s worth noting that Google already introduced some live-sharing features (e.g. watching YouTube videos together) to Duo back in February, and now it’s bringing them to Meet as the… Source link
Read More »Google Fiber isn’t dead, it’s expanding
Google Fiber, the Alphabet division focused on offering high-speed internet access in the US, has ambitious plans to expand its fiber services in the next three to five years, the company announced in a blog post. It wants to launch fiber services in five new states, which include previously announced plans to enter Arizona and Colorado, as well as Nebraska, Nevada, and Idaho. In total, Reuters reports that Google Fiber hopes to expand to 22 metro areas, from 17 today. It’s a big… Source link
Read More »Google Wants To Fix Its Search Engine’s Misinformation Problem
Google is adding features to its search engine to combat misinformation. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images In 2014, if you were to Google “King of the United States,” you would have seen a picture of Barack Obama, yelling passionately into a microphone while at a podium. That’s not true, of course. But Google proclaimed it with authority after surfacing a Breitbart article entitled, “All Hail King Barack Obama, Emperor Of The… Source link
Read More »Google Search will improve snippets to avoid misinformation
The team behind Google Search is tweaking its featured snippets — the text boxes that sometimes spread false information while trying to offer help. The company announced an update that’s supposed to make answers more accurate and avoid the problem of false premises, or questions where no definitive-sounding answer would make sense. It’s paired with an expansion in Google’s “about this result” option and warnings for low-quality data voids, as well as a new partnership on… Source link
Read More »Exclusive: Google Fiber plans 5-state growth spurt, biggest since 2015
The roof of a Google fiber installation truck is pictured Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Aug 10 (Reuters) – Google Fiber plans to bring its high-speed internet service to multiple cities in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nebraska and Nevada over the next several years in its first big expansion since it spun out as an independent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) unit in 2015. In his first media interview… Source link
Read More »Aftermath Of August 8 Google Outage
Google experienced a major outage this week that affected Search and Maps. Publishers and SEOs also reported problems with search indexing. The problem seems to largely be resolved, although earlier today there were still some pockets reporting ongoing issues. Ranking Disruptions Many people reported disruptions in rankings, and some thought it was due to a ranking update. One panicked individual posted a discussion on WebmasterWorld about lost rankings: “I’ve noticed something that… Source link
Read More »Google pushes Apple to adopt RCS text messaging
Android mascots are lined up in the demonstration area at the Google I/O Developers Conference in the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Beck Diefenbach | Reuters Google, the developer of the Android, is increasing the pressure on Apple to adopt RCS, a next-generation standard for text messaging. It argues that Apple’s support of RCS would help prevent some of the problems that arise when iPhone users text with Android owners. Currently, images and video don’t show as clearly as they could, for… Source link
Read More »How To See Google Search Results And Rankings For Different Locations
Every time someone enters a query into Google, the search engine applies a complicated equation to discover precisely what the searcher is looking for. All sorts of factors are included in this predictive algorithm, but one of the important ones is the searcher’s location. Google has been very clear about the emphasis it puts on local search. And that’s great if you’re a neighborhood mom and pop serving a small geographical area. But what happens if you have multiple locations? Or if… Source link
Read More »New Google site begs Apple for mercy in messaging war
Enlarge / Just a few of the many Google messaging logos. Can you name them all? Ron Amadeo Google has been unable to field a stable, competitive messaging platform for years and has thoroughly lost the messaging war to products with a long-term strategy. At least some divisions inside the company are waking up to how damaging this is to Google as a company, and now Google’s latest strategy is to… beg its competition… Source link
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