Google is rolling out a series of changes to its Search and Discover pages, the company shared multiple announcementsThe updates will bring new AI-powered features to these key destinations, as well as improve navigation and allow users to narrow down ads on Google Search.
Given that ads are Google’s primary cash cow, the latter initially seems like the more surprising change. The feature will now allow users browsing Google’s search results to tap a new button, “Hide Sponsored Results,” to collapse ads at the top of the search results page.
However, although this action will remove ads from appearing on the screen, it will not eliminate sponsored results completely. Instead, Google notes that the “Sponsored Results” label will remain at the top of the screen as you scroll down. In a way, this makes the ads more prominent because they can follow you on the page, even if they are shortened.
Additionally, Google says “Sponsored results” headers can appear both above and below AI overviews – short AI-written summaries that appear at the top of search results to provide quick answers. The “Sponsored Results” header for text ads will also appear at the bottom of the page, with all text ads grouped under the label. These can be collapsed with the same “Hide Sponsored Results” button if you want to focus on organic content.
Google says the new design makes it easier for people to navigate to the top of the page, and it keeps the size of the ads the same, with users never seeing more than four text ads in a group.
The new “Sponsored” label will also appear in other places on Google, including Shopping ads, where it will be branded as a “Sponsored Product.”
The updates will be released on desktop and mobile.
The company is also making other changes in Search and Discover. When searching for sports information, like searching for players or teams, you’ll now see a new “What’s New” button that displays a feed of trending updates and news articles that can help you access the latest. It will be rolled out to Google Search in the US in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the Google app’s Discover feed on mobile will introduce an AI-powered feature that will help you keep up with the trending topics you’re interested in. Here, the app will display brief previews that you can expand to see more information, as well as other links to explore. company They say The feature is designed to help users stay updated on stories from different publishers, but it also comes at a time when publishers are seeing a decline in their search traffic due to a shift to AI-delivered answers and consumers’ changing media habits.
This latter feature is now available in the US, South Korea, and India.
