Google is utilizing a new trick called Short Videos carousel. Presently, the tech giant is testing to keep people more on its search pages instead of other places, including addictive applications such as TikTok and Instagram, with their infinite scrolls.
Outcomes might promptly highlight a series of videos grabbed directly from Instagram and TikTok, which might appear contradictory to what Google is seeking to gain here. However, if you click on any of these videos, it will lead you to the web version of the corresponding application that will not be the actual application.
Moreover, on that web version, there is a threat that you are going to be sucked down the rabbit hole again. Consequently, the search giant might get you on with its search pages rather while still providing a hasty, viral, social media fix.
The latest innovation can already be recognized, as the latest video carousel will appear at the top of the Google application on iPhone and Android. According to a TechCrunch report, the brand new feature is an extended version of Google’s Short Videos features released the previous year inside Google discover.
Those who are thinking that this new feature is the same as the Stories feature released in October does not look the same. It is a different feature. The “short stories” feature comes up with video content from a couple of Google partners such as Vice, USA Today, Thrillist, Now This, Bustle, Forbes, and more.
Moreover, Google’s newly launched feature, Short Videos carousel, will work only with social media applications. The Search section in the Short Videos carousel feature will also include clips from YouTube, Trell, and Tangi, along with TikTok and Instagram applications. However, Google did not provide any information about when it will have an agreement with either Facebook or TikTok to get access to the content, or it is only utilizing its own indexing engine to power it.
A screenshot from the Google Search app on the iPhone shows the new Short Videos carousel. Image source: TechCrunch
TechCrunch utilizes the instance above for a “packers” search to demonstrate how the Short Videos section would look like to the user:
We found the Short Videos carousel appears when you scroll past the Google Knowledge Base box for the Green Bay Packers, followed by the scores, Top Stories, Twitter results, Top Results, Images, Videos, and other content, like a listing of the players, standings and more.
Furthermore, Google does not give any words about when they are making this feature available to all users as well as whether a similar version is going to release on the web. According to a Google spokesperson, currently, the feature is just tested on mobile devices in a restricted, initial-stage mode.
There’s one probably a tremendous benefit to this feature, and that’s discovering that certainly killer clip of that funny cat/dog/baby/enter search term that you haven’t kept while you were searching the dark side of TikTok and Instagram. However, the feature’s main purpose is to keep users inside the Search app on Android and iPhone over a longer time period.
