Google adds ‘about this result’ information in search to help vet websites before you click – The Verge

Google is updating its search results with a major new feature: an “about this result” menu that will let you pull up information from Wikipedia about a website in your search results, making it easier to vet sites that you’re not familiar with.

To see the new information boxes, just tap on the three-dot icon on the top right of the result’s card, which will pull up a short snippet on the article. Google says “these descriptions will provide the most up-to-date verified and sourced information available on Wikipedia.”

Additionally, the new search information box will show more detailed information on the result like whether it’s an organic search result or a paid ad, or if the site uses a secure HTTPS connection.

Google says the new result information is designed to help provide additional “peace of mind” when searching. But it’s also easy to see how the new tool could help users winnow out misinformation when searching for news or health information on Google. It’s likely not a coincidence that one of the company’s main examples is to help determine that a site like The Lancet is a valid source of medical information for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new feature is rolling out today as a beta. The company says it’ll continue to take feedback from users to iterate and expand on it in the future, although Google isn’t offering any hard details on what that’ll look like just yet.

The new “about this result” feature is rolling out as a beta starting today for English language users in the US for mobile web, desktop, and the Android Google app.