Google

Google has significantly scaled back its use of AI-generated "answers" on its search results page. It's also sourcing less of the "facts" from discussion forums such as Reddit. The changes are to the "AI Overview" feature, which replaced a similar ... feature called "Search Generative Experience". In both cases, it meant Google creating text that appeared at the top of the search results page, ahead of the normal list of links to relevant websites. The feature is primarily designed to answer questions without the need for the user to visit a website. The "answers" are a summary of information on ... (view more)

Google Maps is changing the way it stores Location History. It's arguably a boost for privacy but may be a surprise for some users who appreciate the feature. The change is to the timeline feature that's included in both the desktop and mobile app ... versions of Google Maps. It lets users see a complete record of all places they've visited while using a mobile device with location tracking switched on. The feature will also add detail and context, for example including any picture from a visit that are saved in Google Photos, or figuring out when a user went on a trip or vacation. It can be ... (view more)

Google appears to be rethinking its use of AI generated "answers" in search results page. It comes as tech experts figured out a workaround to disable the AI generated answers in the first place. The company recently launched what it calls Search ... Generative Experience behind the scenes, and "AI Overview" in search results. It kicks in when it thinks the user is trying to get a specific answer to a specific question rather than simply searching for a website or exploring a wider topic. The AI Overview appears at the top of the results before any links to websites and is rolling out to all ... (view more)

YouTube says it will completely block third-party apps that show its videos with ads removed. It's the latest move in a crackdown on ad blocking that's provoked heated debate. The company has previously attempted to stop ad blocking in web browsers ... tools such as add-ons or extensions. These crackdowns have had mixed results, with some ad blocker developer continuing to stay one step ahead in a game of cat and mouse. Now YouTube has turned its attention to third-party apps that show videos from the site. This is done perfectly legally through an API, a software tool that websites can make ... (view more)

Google is reportedly considering charging users to get AI-based search results. It would be the first time the company had a fee for using its search tools. The plans were revealed by the Financial Times, which says it got details from "three people ... with knowledge of [Google's] plans." The technology for the charging is already in development and it's now simply a case of deciding whether to go ahead with the plan. (Source: ft.com ) There's no suggestion whatsoever that Google will start charging for its core search engine results. Instead a subscription fee would apply to extra results ... (view more)

Recently, Google has started baking artificial intelligence (AI) into its standard search results. However, the new AI-powered responses have been criticized for giving credibility to scams, including leading users to malicious sites where their ... systems could be compromised by ransomware and similar. Although the baked-in artificial intelligence results have already been available for people who have intentionally asked to try it, what's important to note is that Google is now rolling it out for some ordinary users when they carry out a search. The idea of the new tool is to better handle ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I use Chrome as my web browser and when I right click on a web page, I often use the option to 'View page source' so that I can copy its contents and edit the HTML using another program. The problem ... is that in 2023, Google released an update to Chrome that changed the right click menu. Now, I am forced to scroll through the menu in order to get to the 'View page source' option. This is painful and time consuming since I do it many times a day. Last year I came across a few articles that suggested going to 'chrome://flags/' via the web address ... (view more)

Google has revealed it paid $10 million in bounties to people who spotted security bugs in its products last year. More people earned rewards than in an equivalent Microsoft program, though Google paid out less per person. Such programs are designed ... not only to boost security but to encourage security researchers to work for good, rather than exploit bugs. However, critics say tech companies should put more of their resources into making software as bug-free as possible to start with. Google paid out a total of $10 million in 2023, split between 632 researchers in 68 countries. The highest ... (view more)

Google says its next search algorithm update will dramatically reduce the number of low quality results people see. It's particularly targeting sites that prioritize getting high search rankings over providing useful content for readers. The company ... says tests of the new algorithm showed that, when combined with a similar update in 2022, it reduced "low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 40%." Of course, that measurement involves a subjective measure of what content qualifies as low-quality. (Source: gizmodo.com )) Quality Over Quantity According to Google, the algorithm update ... (view more)

Google has shown bogus ads for a scam website at the top of its results page according to a consumer group. The ads had somehow bypassed checks designed to make sure only legitimate businesses appear in the "sponsored" section of the results. These ... results, labeled as sponsored, appear at the top of the rankings. They come above the "organic" results which are based on Google's algorithm that takes into account factors such as the relevance of a page to the search term, the authority and expertise of the creator, and whether people who click on the result quickly return to the search results ... (view more)