Updates to Google Image Search on mobile and desktop began rolling out on Thursday, September 27th.
These updates were announced at Google’s 20th anniversary event in San Francisco and include several new features for mobile and a new user interface for desktop.
Google Image Search Updates on Mobile
Stories in Google Images
A new Stories feature, similar to Instagram and Snapchat, is being introduced to Google Image Search on mobile. According to Google’s Danny Sullivan, Google Images is enhancing computer vision to better organize content, particularly through AI-powered Stories about people.
To implement this feature, Google will incorporate AMP Stories in mobile image search. These stories can be created by publishers and will also be constructed by Google using AI, initially focusing on notable personalities like celebrities and athletes. Similarly to stories on other platforms, users can tap for more information, and web articles can be linked from these stories.
Google Lens Support
Google Lens support is being added to Google Image Search. Many users are already familiar with Google Lens from its dedicated app and integration with Google Photos. Google Lens enables users to learn more about their surroundings by taking photos with their phone’s camera. This might involve photographing a landmark to discover its history or a product to find out where it can be purchased. This feature will roll out in the coming weeks.
Featured Videos in Search
New featured videos in search results aim to provide more useful visual content, with Google now having the ability to deeply understand video content. By understanding a topic, Google can display the most relevant videos for related subtopics. For example, a search for Zion National Park might present videos about attractions like Angels Landing or the Narrows.
Other Notes
During the recent press event, Google highlighted improvements made to image search over the past year. Danny Sullivan shared that Google has altered image rankings to provide more actionable content. Google has also added captions to image search, describing image content more comprehensively for searchers.
Authority of a web page is a ranking signal for images
Google’s algorithm for ranking image search results now places more importance on the authority of the web page hosting the image. The company also prioritizes fresher content in image search results and emphasizes sites where the image is central and higher on the page.
More context around images in search results
An update rolling out this week will add more context to images, including captions that display the title of the web page where each image is published. Google will also suggest related search terms at the top of the page. This additional context to image search was first introduced on mobile and is now being brought to desktop as well.
