Google tries to keep search relevant
Search giant hoping to keep core business ahead of the curve
Search giant hoping to keep core business ahead of the curve
Google has announced that it will enable search enquiries to integrate with personal searches, such as in a users Gmail account, as a way to maintain its dominance of the search market.
In a “limited field trial”, some users will start seeing email content appear alongside other web searches. Part of the reason for this is to create a seamless experience for users, but for Google it is an important way of collecting huge amounts of data about users.
Tying all this data together will allow Google to learn more about its users, allowing them to know the relationship between specific searches.
Director of Product Management for Google, Sagar Kamdar told reporters: “This is a baby step in a really complicated area.”
Many users may find the idea of seeing their emails appear when searching for something in Google worrying, particularly those that use shared computers. Maintaining security on with this project is, as Kamdar says, a “hard problem.”
The trial is reportedly going to be open to other email providers, and not just people with Gmail accounts. Senior Vice President Amit Singhal said: “We are very willing to work with every email provider.” Whether these email providers are willing to give up their valuable user data remains to be seen.
