Google is making some major changes to how its search engine operates as the US prepares for the election in November.
Google: Easy Mobile Forms Are Crucial
Google has been making a lot of moves to get mobile users a better user experience. As you may know, the company recently announced a pair of ranking signals for this purpose. One that’s already in effect will return in-app…
Google Autocomplete Misogyny Serves as the Focal Point for These Powerful Ads
Google autocomplete, for all its various detractors, is simply a reflection of the people. Google’s not picking what it suggests to you when you start typing a query – you are. Well, maybe not you entirely. Google’s autocomplete suggestions are…
Google Must Remove Defamatory Autocomplete Suggestions Says German Court
Google’s autocomplete results are not suggestions straight from the brains of Googlers, pecking away on their keyboards. When you type something and Google attempts to finish your thought for you, it’s simply throwing up the most popular searches for that…
The Human Condition Tracked via Google Autocomplete Is Sad, Beautiful, Sex-Obsessed
There is something poignant, and unnervingly beautiful about this. It’s also incredibly depressing in a way. Google’s autocomplete feature uses algorithms to suggest queries based on their popularity with other users, so when Google is suggesting something to you, just…
Bing Suggests You Search for ‘Sex Games for Kids’ and a Bunch of Other Questionable Queries
Updated with comment from Microsoft below. Like Google, Yahoo, and most other search engines, Bing offers to autocomplete queries in their search box. While Google calls this feature “autocomplete,” Bing calls it “search suggestions.” Well, it looks like Bing is…
Google Loses Lawsuit Over Autocomplete in Japan
A Tokyo District Court has ruled that Google must alter its autocomplete results to make sure they don’t suggest criminal activity when users search for a specific man’s name. This case began in March of 2012 when a Japanese court…
Gmail Rolls Out Past Search Autocomplete, Contact Thumbnails
Google is shipping an update to Gmail that should make it easier to locate that email that you just searched for the other day. Starting today, Google begins the global rollout of new autocomplete predictions for your past Gmail searches.…
Bing Adds Some ‘Ghosting’ To Autosuggest
Bing announced that it has made a change to its Autosuggest feature, which it says makes the search experience faster by completing your query when they’re “confident” they “really know” what you’re looking for. Bing refers to its latest development…
Does Google the Link Lister Equal Google the Publisher?
Is Google a publisher? Or is Google simply a displayer of links? Are these two things the same? Those questions are at the heart of a Australian case that just tipped against Google, and are likely at the heart of…
Google Makes A Bunch Of Changes To Autocomplete
Google released a big list of 65 changes it has made over the course of August and September, and quite a few of them were tweaks to its autocomplete feature. This is all part of Google’s goal of getting you…
Bing Beats Google, If You’re Looking to Kill Yourself [UPDATED]
UPDATE: I’ve received the following statement from Bing: “In some cases we do prioritize the hotline and we’re reviewing the guidelines for instant answers related to this type of query,” says Stefan Weitz, Senior Director, Bing. ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Earlier this…
Google Autocomplete No Longer Excludes “Bisexual”
There are thousands of words that Google has “blacklisted,” meaning they won’t trigger any suggestions within Google’s autocomplete feature. If you don’t quite understand what I’m talking about, head on over to Google and type in “football.” Before your fingers…
Google in Trouble (Again) over Autocomplete
Google finds itself embroiled in another legal case stemming from their autocomplete feature in search. This time, it’s former German First Lady Bettina Wulff, who claims that Google has defamed her and “destroyed her reputation” with its instant search. Wullf,…
Gmail Makes Search A Little Better, Adds Features
Google announced that a few Gmail Labs features have graduated into actual features, and that it has made some improvements to advanced search in Gmail. Advanced search now supports autocomplete predictions in the From: and To: fields, so you can…
Patent Troll Goes After Netflix And Others Over Autocomplete
Autocomplete is pretty ubiquitous in the tech space by now. If a site has search, you can bet that they have an autocomplete feature of some sort powering the front end. That feature just got a dozen or so companies…
Google Makes Deal In “Jewish” Autocomplete Case
Back in April, Google was sued (again) over something that’s really not their fault. Or is it? Several French anti-discrimination groups, including SOS Racisme, accused Google of “creating probably the greatest Jewish history file ever,” and said that French Google…
Google Autocomplete Is… (Improved)
Google put out its big list of algorithm changes for May, and 5 out of 39 of them are related to autocomplete predictions. From the sound of it, they’re the predictions are getting more useful, and there’s a lesser chance…
Google Places Autocomplete Removes The Tedium Of Address Entry Pages
I have my disagreements with Google, but we’re on the level more often than not. You see, Google agrees with me that address entry pages on the Internet are stupid. They’re slow, tedious and only serve to slow me down…
The 2012 Presidential Election, As Told By Google Autocomplete
With Newt Gingrich dropping out of the GOP primary race today, the inevitable has happened. Mitt Romney will be your Republican candidate for President in 2012. The Romney/Obama battle has already begun with hard hard-hitting attacks about each candidate’s dealings…