Google today announced a new personalized news feed for its namesake iOS app, offering a stream of content based on user search history and topics they choose to follow.
The feed appears directly below the search bar in the Google app, where users will see a stream of personally relevant articles and media content powered by Google's machine learning algorithms.
The feed sits in place of Google Now, the company's predictive search feature that displays traffic updates, weather, and other information, all of which has been moved to a new tab called Updates.
Going forward, when users perform a search in the app, some results will display a "follow" button alongside them. Content ripe for following will include news, sports, and entertainment articles, with relevance prioritized by the user's search history and previous follows.
The feed itself can be customized by tapping the three dots on top of a card, from which content can be shared, followed, or dismissed to avoid seeing the subject again.
The feed is the company's latest effort to encourage users to browse with the Google app instead of thinking of it as a simple search portal. Its introduction in the app is also seen as a prelude to bringing similar personalized elements to the Google homepage proper.
The new feed should start showing up in the U.S. today and will be rolling out globally over the next few weeks. The Google app is a free download for iPhone and iPad on the App Store. [Direct Link]
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