Google might muck up desktop search with a new Discovery Feed

Less is more

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The line between theGoogleexperience on desktop and mobile is beginning to blur as the company may introduce a Discovery Feed to its search engine forweb browsers.

This nugget of information comes fromtech news site MSPowerUser, which recently discovered the update. The feed is similar to what you see onBingand the Google smartphone app although it does add a bit more. In addition to displaying headlines from articles, you get the local weather forecast, stock market information for three corporations, and sports scores on the right side.A Google representative told TheVergethis is nothing more than an experiment “currently being run in India”. No word if the redesign will make its way to other countries.

Potentially limited

This wouldn’t be the first time the tech giant has messed around with the clean front page of itssearch engine.9To5Google has an interesting timelineshowcasing various tweaks that have been made to the front page. At one point, there was even a section dedicated to displaying news stories on the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest difference with the older styles is they consisted of a few widgets at the bottom of the screen.

The current test has content taking up large portions of the screen, pushing the search bar to the top of the window. The layout becomes way more cluttered.

This wouldn’t be so bad if there was a way to disable the feature, or at the very least, tweak it. Unfortunately, this might not happen.Android Policein their report points outGoogle’s Discovery Feedon smartphones cannot be disabled or even customized. It’s totally at the mercy of website owners who want their content to reach the right audience. The feed will show articles related to a person’s interests, but that’s as far as it goes regarding customization.

If you can’t beat them…

Of course, there’s no guarantee the experiment will become official, although it is an interesting insight into what Google is thinking of introducing to its search engine. On October 12, thecompany began testingan “image generation tool on the AI-powered Search Generative Experience (SGE).” Again, similar toBing, it gives the search engine the ability to create images according to a text prompt.

It is a little funny to see Google chase after Bing like this. For years, it’s always felt like Bing was always playing second fiddle, but now with the advent of AI, the tables have seemingly turned. What else will Google adopt fromMicrosoftif it’s willing to go further? Maybe we’ll see aChromeversion ofMicrosoft Copilotsomeday soon, though it will still be calledGoogle Assistant.

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Cesar Cadenas has been writing about the tech industry for several years now specializing in consumer electronics, entertainment devices, Windows, and the gaming industry. But he’s also passionate about smartphones, GPUs, and cybersecurity.

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