search engine

The internet is a huge place, and while there's a variety of search engines available, it's undeniable that Google is the top player: it handles roughly 77% of web searches around the world. But with that in mind, it's still an impressive feat when an underdog reaches a milestone, especially one with goals different from the entrenched leader. That's the case this week, as the anonymous search engine DuckDuckGo hit 30 million direct searches in a single day.

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Google's next step after Google Feed is "Google Discover" and it's all about News. Google's describing it a bit differently - they're offering this system up as a set of changes in the way they think about Search. "We're launching a major update to this experience," said Karen Corby, Google Search Group Product Manager, "including a new name, a fresh look, and a brand-new set of features."

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Today Microsoft Search was introduced - or re-introduced - with an eye on searching everywhere, in all things, at all times. This is Microsoft's biggest effort to take on Google and its all-in integration of services, but with Microsoft's strong points. That means search in Office 365 documents as well as on-machine and on the web. "Getting pages of results with hyperlinks to other information is simply not enough," said Jeff Teper, Corporate Vice President for OneDrive, SharePoint, and Office.

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Donald Trump was concerned this week that Google suppresses conservative news media in search results. He did so in two Tweets, one of which asked whether this practice was legal. Inside the United States, the FCC effectively ended Net Neutrality in December of 2017. Net Neutrality is not the same as Search Neutrality, and neither the FCC nor the FTC (nor any other government entity) has the legal power to tell Google that it needs to show "fair and balanced" search results - at least where politics are concerned.

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This week Google's Podcast app was revealed in detail, from audio search to indexing. As it turns out, Google already released their Podcast App in the form of an update to their already-in-play Google Search app. Getting to this Podcast interface is not entirely intuitive - but for a good reason. Google doesn't just want to run over your face with their Podcasting abilities, not when you might want to be searching for other Podcasting apps. That's not what Google is all about.

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Google is making it easier for movie lovers to pick the right flick for date night. Mobile users can now easily compare movies that are currently in theaters using Google Search, at least if they're in the US or India and using an Android device. The tool enables users to rapidly compare things like showtimes, theater locations, viewer ratings, and more without toggling between tabs.

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The appetite for news on mobile is increasing, and Google wants to make chewing through it more like Snapchat and less like a chore. The company has revealed its latest project, AMP Stories, taking news content and packaging it into a visual-first format that promises more engagement from attention-short readers.

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Microsoft has taken the wraps off new artificial intelligence features for its search engine Bing, as well as Cortana and Office 365. The company unveiled the new abilities at an event in San Francisco today, explaining that AI has the ability to bring about the intelligent tools that consumers want. Whether it is asking for help or seeking answers, artificial intelligence -- and Microsoft's products that use it -- are here to help.

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What's three billion dollars between friends (and arch-rivals), right? Google will reportedly drop a cool $3bn into Apple's back pocket this year alone, one analyst firm has suggested, in return for being the default search engine on the iPhone, iPad, and other iOS hardware. Although unconfirmed by either company, it's an indication of just how valuable mobile users are, and how much importance Google places on its role there despite considerable mindshare.

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If you hate Facebook's autoplaying videos, just wait. Google has introduced the same feature into search results for some users, though it depends on the results you get. The feature has been confirmed by Google as a test, though the company didn't go into any details. It is limited to desktop at the moment, at least based on user feedback, and it is live in the UK and Canada as well as the US.

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This weekend Google began rolling out changes to its mobile search results UI. Instead of flat, sharp corners, each result in Google search has a softer, rounder edge. Instead of having nothing in the upper right-hand corner of each search result, this new layout includes four friendly little dots that correspond with the 4 colors of the Google Logo and newest Android OS startup.

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Both Microsoft and Google have agreed to demote piracy links in search results in the UK, it has been announced, in their latest efforts to help crack down on Internet piracy. This move, if it proceeds, will be a first of its kind, and will result in Google Search and Bing demoting websites in search results that give access to copyrighted content without the authority to do so. The first page will be entirely scrubbed of piracy links.

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