All articles tagged with #search
Microsoft’s September 2026 Windows 11 update introduces three customization options—move the Taskbar to the top, resize and personalize the Start menu, and disable web results from Windows Search—along with broader Search and indexing tweaks, with features rolling out gradually to devices.
Google is rolling out three personalization features: an embeddable Preferred Sources button that returns readers to publishers, upcoming natural-language Discover controls to tailor feeds, and customizable topic-based audio briefings in the Google News app, expanding user control across Search, Discover, and News.
iOS 27 introduces three widely-used features: a rebuilt Siri AI with broader capabilities and a dedicated Siri app; AI-powered proofreading that suggests grammar and word replacements; and a major overhaul of Spotlight search across the system, Photos, and Mail with a more comprehensive, up-to-date index and Siri integration.
The European Commission fined Google $1 billion for antitrust violations tied to its Play Store and search, accusing the company of abusing its dominance to stifle competition; the ruling underscores the EU's ongoing scrutiny of tech giants and Google may appeal.
The European Commission fined Google €890 million—the first enforcement under the Digital Markets Act—for giving its own services preferential treatment in search results and restricting app developers' ability to promote alternative offers; Google must comply within 60 days or risk penalties up to 5% of worldwide turnover, with the company signaling it may review or appeal the decision and noting concerns the DMA could degrade user experience.
Cloudflare’s new report claims more than 50% of internet traffic is now non-human, a trend tied to Google’s Gemini AI integration that has coincided with a sharp drop in human site visits. Google is said to account for about 88% of referral traffic, and 52% of crawler requests are for AI training as of June 2026. Publishers warn of “Google Zero,” where opting out of AI Overview could deindex sites, a move the UK regulator is pushing by allowing opt-out controls. The shift is widening beyond media to retail, software, IT and finance, raising questions about how Google will sustain AI-driven results without publisher revenue.
Google Images is getting its biggest refresh in years: a personalized, real-time homepage with a collections-based gallery, plus AI-powered image generation directly in AI Overviews using Google's Nano Banana model, enabling users to create new images from prompts without leaving the search results.
Microsoft is testing a decluttered Windows 11 Search Box for Windows Insiders in the Experimental channel, removing ads and right‑pane tiles, showing only recent searches, and prioritizing local results. It also lets users disable web and Store recommendations, adds clearer metadata and file previews, and includes tweaks to better handle typos and partial queries.
Microsoft announced a major Windows 11 search overhaul that prioritizes local results, reduces reliance on web content, and removes ads and promotional material from search results. The update introduces a calmer, uncluttered search home, clearer results that show the source (app, file, setting, web, or Store), better typo handling, and user controls to limit web/Store results. It also improves app/file discovery, settings relevance, and overall reliability, with a staged rollout via Windows Insiders (Experimental Channel) before a broader release later this year as part of the Windows K2 initiative.
After nearly two weeks of wandering away from Cedar Hollow Ranch near Leakey, Texas, Gracie the reticulated giraffe was found safe about four miles south of the ranch thanks to aerial searches; a veterinarian will help safely capture and return her to the ranch, following a $5,000 reward and days of drone/heli-assisted searching.
Google still dominates search, but rising competition and user caution about AI are reshaping the landscape: DuckDuckGo and Bing are gaining traction, Google Search traffic has softened, and AI features like AI Mode are rolling out; talent exits from Gemini and DeepMind to OpenAI and Anthropic illustrate a fierce AI‑talent war, while Google’s ad-driven revenue funds its long‑term AI bets. Despite the headwinds, Alphabet’s stock remains up over the past year.
Futurism found Google AI Overviews describing SCP Foundation entries as real, with at least 20 cases where fictional anomalies were treated as fact. The shift to an AI-first search could elevate fiction to fact and diminish source traffic, though some retried searches later labeled items as fictional and Google did not respond to Futurism.
Google is rolling out Information Agents in AI Mode for Google AI Ultra subscribers. The feature, announced at Google I/O, lets Search agents monitor the web and real-time data, sending updates and links when new information matches a user’s query (e.g., apartment listings or sneaker drops). Available across AI Mode languages/markets with broader rollout planned this summer.
Apple has announced iOS 27, a major performance-focused update featuring faster app launches, a rebuilt search index with enhanced Spotlight, and numerous refinements across Photos, Health, Maps, AirPods, and more; older devices like iPhone 11 and newer will be eligible to update, along with trust and parental-control enhancements.
Google is rolling out dedicated Search profiles for U.S.-based creators and publishers who meet high follower/subscriber thresholds, allowing them to curate links, bios, pinned media, and a cross‑platform post feed, but eligibility requires at least 100k YouTube subscribers, 100k Instagram or X followers, or 300k TikTok followers and being 18+, making it a selective alternative to Linktree and giving creators more control beyond traditional knowledge panels.