Google announced it has begun rolling out autoplaying video previews in search results.
No, not the same autoplaying videos that were the subject of much controversy last month. These are different and arguably less obtrusive.
They will appear in place of static images that are usually displayed when a video carousel is surfaced at the top of a search results page.
You can see an example in the GIF provided by Google below:
”…you now have access to video previews directly in search results, giving you a better idea of what you’re about to watch before you tap.”
In an effort to be data-friendly, video previews will only play when connected to Wi-Fi.
If you really want to enable this feature on mobile networks, you can do so within the settings menu of the Google app or Chrome app.
Conversely, you can also opt-out of this feature within the same settings menu.
Autoplaying video previews are currently only available in the Google Search and Chrome apps for Android. They will be rolled out gradually over the coming week.
