Google's live search results is just a test

Google - tries stuff, you know.
Google - tries stuff, you know.

Google has responded to the video of one of its search experiments, which shows results appear as a person types, insisting it is just one of a number of trials.

An unofficial video has surfaced that shows what appears to be the next step in Google Suggest but rather than offering you what you might be searching for as you type this actually shows you the likely results.

But Google has quickly moved to say that this is just one of a number of experiments going on, and consumers should not necessarily expect this to be a change rolled into Google's main search engine.

"At any given time we are running between 50-200 search experiments," a spokesman told TechRadar.

Trials and tribulations

Google has spoken in the past about the way in which it trials changes, recently telling TechRadar how its popular Google Labs scheme allows the public to peek behind the curtain.

Back in 2006, VP Mariss Mayer blogged about the search experiments saying: "From time to time, we run live experiments on Google - tests visible to a relatively few people - to discover better ways to search.

"We do this because there's no good substitute for understanding how real people, in real-world situations, actually operate.

"Theories are fine, but 'improving the user experience' really happens best when we understand what people do online."

Still, it's quite a cool looking search experiment, and you can see it in action in the video below.

TOPICS
Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.

Latest in Search Engines
Google Learn About
Google Learn About is the patient teacher with a bag full of tricks we all wanted as kids
Bing
Microsoft is so desperate for people to drop Google for Bing it’s offering a $1 million reward
ChatGPT Search
I tried ChatGPT Search and now I might never Google again
Google AI Overviews
Google’s AI Overviews are now available to help a billion people avoid reading full articles
A person holding an iPhone close to the camera with the Google search homepage displayed onscreen
Judge rules Google has illegal search monopoly and you might not like what comes next
SearchGPT
OpenAI unveils SearchGPT and prepares to take on Google
Latest in News
Polish space agency says it was hit by a cyberattack
The new limited edition Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses show a translucent design.
Ray-Ban and Meta just teased new limited-edition smart glasses – but they'll be in frustratingly short supply
A MacBook Air on the left, showing the macOS lock screen, and the iPad Air in two sizes on the left, showing an abstract wallpaper
New MacBook Air launch expected imminently – all the latest news and rumors live
PCI Express bus interface connector, x16, x8, x4, x1, on the computer motherboard
AMD warns its RX 9070 GPUs are strictly ‘UEFI-only’ – and if that sounds worrying, don’t panic, it probably doesn’t affect you
OnePlus Watch 3
The OnePlus Watch 2 won't get Wear OS 5 until Q3 of this year, and the news for the OnePlus Watch 3 is even worse
Google Pixel 8a in aloe green showing
New Google Pixel 9a leaks tease color options, and satellite connectivity to take on the iPhone 16e