#google-discover

#google-discover

Google's selection of an image preview is completely automated and takes into account a number of different sources to select which image on a given page is shown on Google (for example, a text result image or the preview image in Discover). You can influence which image gets selected by providing your preferred image through one of the following metadata sources: Specify the schema.org primaryImageOfPage property with a URL or ImageObject, or specify an image URL or ImageObject property and attach it to the main entity, or specify the og:image meta tag.

Google says the update improved quality. It aimed to reduce the presence of clickbait and low-value content while surfacing more in-depth, original, and timely material from sites with demonstrated expertise. Some published reports speculated that the update devalued AI-generated content, yet Google's concern is probably not artificial intelligence per se. Rather, it is scaled, thin, or risky AI-generated content that degrades trust.

Google will fix its Google Discover fake AI news problem. Google is now showing search ads, not just shopping ads, in the image search results. Google now lets you add your shipping and returns policies to Search Console without a Merchant Center account. Google Ads has AI-guided help within the disapproval section. Google Local Service Ads message leads has new value-based pricing. Bing is testing favicon anchors at the top of the search results.

A Google spokesperson said: "We keep the vast majority of spam out of Discover through robust spam-fighting systems and clear policies against new and emerging forms of low quality, manipulative content. "We're actively working on a fix that will better address the specific type of spam that's being referenced here, maintaining our high bar for quality in Discover."

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google is testing an Ask AI Mode anything carousel feature. Bing is testing an updated Copilot product search box. Google Merchant Center allows you to use your own brand name in your short title. Google Discover was showing the publisher's name twice, it was a bug. Plus, I am offline today for Sukkos, so this email was pre-written

Google wrote, they are "updating Discover to make it even easier to find, follow and engage with the content and creators you care about most. From creators to news publishers, Discover will be a more helpful and personalized jumping-off point for exploring the web." In the coming weeks, you'll start to see more types of content in Discover from publishers and creators across the web, such as posts from X and Instagram and YouTube Shorts, with more platforms to come. In our research, people told us they enjoyed seeing a mix of content in Discover, including videos and social posts, in addition to articles.

One thing that the blog post doesn't make clear, though, is whether or not Google will give users any sort of control over what new content types they see from creators on their pages. I, personally, don't really want to see posts from X and other social media networks in Discover, so hopefully we'll be able to turn them off or tune them out somehow if we'd rather stick to websites.

Google Discover may be showing X posts (formerly Twitter tweets) from accounts you follow and not from other accounts that you do not follow. Discover has shown X/Twitter posts for a while now, on occasion, but I didn't know Google could show X posts from only accounts you follow. Gagan Ghorta spotted this and Rajan Patel from Google replied on X saying, "We're experimenting with various approaches to X in Discover."

Google seems to be rolling out Google Discover on desktop, which marks a significant shift in how users will access content.