This is not a joke: Google will now let you perform a \u201cweb\u201d search. It\u2019s rolling out \u201cweb\u201d searches now, and in my early tests on desktop, it\u2019s looking like it could be an incredibly popular change to Google\u2019s search engine. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It filters out almost all the other blocks of content that Google crams into a search results page, leaving you with links and text \u2014 and Google confirms to The Verge<\/em> that it will block the company\u2019s new AI Overviews<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIsn\u2019t every search a web search? What is Google Search if not the web?\u201d you might rightfully ask. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n But independent websites like HouseFresh<\/em><\/a> and Retro Dodo<\/em> have pointed out<\/a> how their businesses have gotten \u201cburied deep beneath sponsored posts, Quora advice from 2016, best-of lists from big media sites, and no less than 64 Google Shopping product listings,\u201d in the words of HouseFresh<\/em> managing editor Gisele Navarro. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Now, with one click, a bunch of those blockers seemingly disappear.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Search for \u201cbest home arcade cabinets,\u201d one of Retro Dodo<\/em>\u2019s bread-and-butter queries, and it\u2019s no longer buried \u2014 it appears on page 1. (Drag our image slider to see the difference.) <\/p>\n<\/div>\n HouseFresh<\/em> still doesn\u2019t get page 1 billing for \u201cbest budget air purifiers\u201d \u2014 but it\u2019s higher up, and you\u2019re no longer assaulted by an eye-popping number of Google Shopping results as you scroll:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you search for Wyze cameras, you\u2019ll now get a hint about their lax security practices<\/a> on page 2 instead of page 3:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s an improvement for every search, partly because Google\u2019s modules can<\/em> be useful, and partly because the company isn\u2019t giving up on self-promotion just because you press the \u201cweb\u201d button. Here, you can see Google still gives itself top billing for \u201cGoogle AR glasses\u201d either way, and its \u201cTop stories\u201d box is arguably a helpful addition:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Which of these results helps you better learn about the Maui wildfires?<\/a> I\u2019m genuinely not sure: <\/p>\n<\/div>\n And when you ask Google who wrote The Lord of the Rings<\/em>, is there any reason you wouldn\u2019t want Google\u2019s full knowledge graph at your disposal?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Admittedly, it\u2019s an answer that Google isn\u2019t likely to get wrong.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As far as I can tell, the order<\/em> of Google\u2019s search results seem to be the same regardless of whether you pick \u201cweb\u201d or \u201call.\u201d It doesn\u2019t block links to YouTube videos or Reddit posts or SEO factories… and I still saw (smaller!) sponsored ads from Amazon and Verkada and Wyze push down my search results:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWeb\u201d is just a filter that removes Google\u2019s knowledge panels and featured snippets and Shopping modules \u2014 and Google\u2019s new AI Overviews as well, Google spokesperson Ned Adriance confirms to The Verge. \u201c<\/em>AI Overviews are a feature in Search, just like a knowledge panel or a featured snippet, so they will not appear when someone uses the web filter for a search.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It doesn\u2019t magically fix some of the issues facing Google\u2019s search engine<\/a>. But it is a giant opt-out button for people who\u2019ve been aggravated by some of the company\u2019s seemingly self-serving moves, and a way to preserve the spirit of the 10 blue links<\/a> even as Google\u2019s AI efforts try to leave them behind.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Danny Sullivan, Google\u2019s Public Liaison for Search, says he\u2019s been asking for something like this<\/a> for years: <\/p>\n<\/div>\n As a next step, I\u2019d like to see Google promote the button to make it more visible. Right now, the company warns that it may not always appear in the primary carousel on desktop at all \u2014 you may need to click \u201cMore\u201d first<\/a> and then select \u201cWeb.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Here\u2019s hoping this all works well on mobile, too; I\u2019m not seeing it on my phone yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n