Google becomes more 'human' by answering long, complex questions: Search engine adds new features as it celebrates its 15th birthday with a playable Doodle
- Google's Hummingbird update gives more comprehensive answers
- The change is a move away from keywords to complete statements
- It uses Knowledge Graph data to compile a file of all related information
- Google has also announced advanced voice query tools - similar to Siri
- September marks the 15th anniversary of when Google began
- Google has unveiled a birthday Doodle and Easter Eggs to celebrate
When you search Google it no longer just searches for individual keywords; it can now respond to questions and statements in the same way a human might, by looking at the whole query - even if it doesn't have an exact answer.
For example, asking Google 'Tell me about impressionist artists' will show a list of artists but also now let you click to learn about the impressionist movement, browse individual artwork, or switch to abstract artists using filters.
Called Hummingbird, the company claims its 'the most significant algorithm change' in years. It will affect 90 per cent of searches and the firm began rolling it out to select users a month ago.
The Google Hummingbird changes mean asking 'Tell me about impressionist artists' will show a list of artists but also let users learn about the movement, browse artwork, or switch to abstract artists using filters, pictured left. It's also now possible to compare two items, such as butter and olive oil, right, more easily
WHY DOES GOOGLE HAVE MORE THAN ONE BIRTHDAY?
There is a little confusion around when Google's official birthday is.
September marks 15 years since graduates Larry Page and Sergey Brin set up a small web crawler from a garage in Silicon Valley, which went onto become the world's biggest search engine.
Reports claim papers to incorporate the company were filed on September 4 1998. The company became incorporated three days later and the domain was registered on September 15.
Google, however, now officially celebrates the event with a Google Doodle on September 27.
It is thought this date was changed as an attempt to gain media coverage several years ago, at a time when Yahoo was gaining ground on Google.
The changes have been announced as the firm officially celebrates its 15th birthday with a Doodle game and search Easter Egg.
'Google Search is turning 15,' said Amit Singhal, Google's senior vice president of search.
'Remember what it was like to search in 1998? You'd sit down and boot up your bulky computer, dial up on your squawky modem, type in some keywords, and get 10 blue links to websites that had those words. It seemed like magic!'
'The world has changed so much since then: billions of people have come online, the web has grown exponentially, and now you can ask any question on the powerful little device in your pocket.
'You can explore the world with the Knowledge Graph, ask questions aloud with voice search, and get info before you even need to ask with Google Now.'
Google also announced advanced voice queries to which your computer or mobile device can now verbally respond, in a similar way to how Apple's Siri works.
For example, users can ask Google to compile playlists, compare items or find out facts about landmarks.
Users only need to mention the context once, as well. For example, if searching for information about Big Ben, the searcher only needs to say 'Big Ben' once; Google will know that if someone asks for trivia about the landmark, but then ask for directions, that both questions relate to the same thing.
This official timeline from Google shows how search has developed in the past 15 years. The latest update is 'the most significant algorithm change' in years. It will affect 90 per cent of searches and the firm began rolling it out to select users a month ago
This tool uses features of Google's updated Knowledge Graph that filters and pulls information from various sources to create what is, in effect, a file on that particular subject.
Having a conversation with Google should 'be more natural', wrote Singhal. 'So if you tell your Nexus 7, 'OK Google. Remind me to buy olive oil at Safeway,' when you walk into the store with your iPhone, you'll get a reminder.'
Google also unveiled an updated iOS app, coming soon, that lets users see calendar entries more clearly, and carry over reminders across devices and operating systems.
These announcements come as Google officially celebrates its 15th birthday. The site was originally called BackRub, but was changed in 1997 to Google - a misspelling of the word googol which is a term for the number one followed by one hundred zeros.
There is a little confusion around when Google's official birthday is. Reports claim papers to incorporate the company were filed on September 4 1998. The company became incorporated three days later and the domain was registered on September 15.
Google, however, officially celebrates the event with a Google Doodle on 27 September and this year the Doodle is a playable game in which animated letters from the word Google hit a pinata.
Google officially celebrates its birthday with a special Doodle each year on 27 September. This year's Doodle is a playable game, pictured, in which animated letters from the word Google hit a pinata. The more sweets that come out, the higher the score
The more sweets that come out, the higher the score.
Typing 'Google in 1998' into Google also changes the page to look who it did 15 years ago.
The site is now the world's number one search engine and its name has become so synonymous with searching, it is now used as a verb in its own right.
Despite its humble beginnings in a rented garage that belonged to Susan Wojcicki - Brin's now sister-in-law - the company now has more than 70 offices in more than 40 global locations, including London, with their headquarters - known as the Googleplex - in Mountain View, California.
Its size and reputation grew rapidly in the first few years, with three billion web documents on Google's index by December 2001.
Innovations subsequently launched by Google that have become part of everyday life include Google Maps, Google Streetview and Google Earth, each showing how far the company now spans across the globe.
Google has also hidden an Easter Egg in its search pages to celebrate its birthday. Typing 'Google in 1998' changes the page to look it did 15 years ago, pictured
A screenshot from the beta version of Google: September marks the 15th anniversary of when Google was first incorporated by founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The company started from a garage in Silicon Valley in 1998 and is now the world's largest search engine -with more than 13 billion searches a month
Its Android operating system is also the most popular mobile software in the world and it has teamed up with manufacturers including Asus and LG to launch a number of best-selling devices such as the Nexus 4 smartphone and Nexus 7 tablet.
Google also bought Motorola in 2011 and a new Moto X handset is expected towards the end of this year.
Looking to the future, Google Glass is one of the internet giant's latest products, aiming to offer voice-activated hands-free connectivity through a wearable device.
Plus, Google has designed a range of self-driving cars that use sensors and mapping technology to travel around cities without a driver.
Industry experts have praised Google for its success, however, some have questioned how long it can stay at the top.
Joseph Lampel, professor of strategy at Cass Business School, City University London, said Google had to continue to innovate to make sure they stay ahead of the curve to survive the next 15 years.
Professor Lampel said: 'I am not surprised they have survived this far but if you're asking if they will survive until they are 25 or 30, that's another question.'
Google's Android operating system is now the most popular mobile software in the world. A screenshot of an early version, called Android 2.2 Froyo is pictured left. The most recent release, Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, is shown in the right-hand image and Google announced Android 4.4 KitKat last month
He said there was increasing competition from search engines from emerging markets, especially those in Asia, and added: 'Google might not be able to maintain their level of dominance, if the industry opens up to competitors.
'The question also arises of the very function of Google. The search engine business will shift in the next decade into new technology and new devices.'
Professor Lampel attributed Google's success to its speed in adding services to their search engine and their push into hardware with products like Google Glass.
'All in all, they have done very well, and they have had an enormous influence, without question,' he said.
Colin Cieszynski, senior market analyst at CMC Markets, said: 'It's really incredible when you think about whatGoogle has done over this period of time.
A GOOGLE TIMELINE: MAJOR MILESTONES AND RELEASES
September 1998 - Google Inc. is founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin
July 2000 - Google becomes world's largest search engine and by December has 1 billion indexes
July 2001 - Images search is launched
February 2003 - Google buys blogging platform Blogger
March 2004 - Gmail launches
October 2004 - Google launches Desktop Search and by reaches 8 billion indexes by December
June 2005 - A busy month for Google as it launches Google Earth, Maps, Talk and Video
July 2005 - Android is bought by Google
October 2006 - Google buys video site YouTube
September 2008 - Search index reaches 1 trillion and the Chrome browser is unveiled
July 2009 - Google launches its Chrome OS for netbooks
July 2010 - The first Nexus smartphone handset - the Nexus One - is launched
August 2011 - Plans are announced for Google to buy Motorola Mobility
March 2012 – Google launches the Play store with TV and movie rentals as well as apps
June 2012 - First Google tablet, made by Asus, launches called Nexus 7 and Google Glass is unveiled
June 2013 – Google buys mapping and navigation company Waze to boost its mapping software and self-driving car capability
June 2013 – Google balloons fitted with internet transmitters launched
'They've taken a lead in the second wave of success of the internet, becoming the premier company. It's like there was a shake-up, and they're the ones who ended up on top.
'Yahoo has struggled along, but lots of others have fallen by the wayside. They have continued to innovate. The question is, how long do you manage to stay on top of everyone else?
'But this anniversary is incredible for them - they're still on top. To dominate for so long is amazing.'
Despite the milestone date being reached, Google may not be marking the event until later in the month - having put out last year's Google Doodle to celebrate their 14th anniversary on September 27.
A Google spokeswoman would not be drawn on whether users could expect any birthday surprises during September.
Last year, a Google Doodle showed a birthday cake with 14 candles, which had slices removed until the name of the search engine emerged.
Google traditionally marks its birthday with a Google Doodle such as this one that was unveiled to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Up to 2005, the birthday Doodle was unveiled on September 7 but since that date Google now releases it on September 27
Google Doodles can also be used to mark major milestones in history, as well as birthdays. This Doodle from August 28 this year marked the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous speech
The first Google Doodle, which is when the Google logo is altered on the site's homepage in celebration of a particular event, was in 1998 to mark the Burning Man festival.
In May 2012, Google unveiled its first interactive Google Doodle to celerate the 30th anniversary of the arcade game Pac-Man, in association with Namco.
Searchers play Pac-Man within their browser by clicking the 'Insert Coin' button.
When players pressed this button a second time, a second player would join the game as Ms. Pac-Man.
The game was so popular, Google made it a permanent site after the Doodle had been removed.
Later the same year, Google unveiled its first animated Google Doodle to mark John Lennon's 70th birthday with a short clip of his song 'Imagine'.
A similar Doodle was launched, using a clip of Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now' song, to mark Freddie Mercury's 65th birthday in September 2011.
The image, tweeted by Idealabs found Bill Gross shows what Google's self-driving car sees as it turns left. Gross claims the cars collect 1GB of data every second. Google has become a pioneer in forward-looking technology over its 15-year history
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Hiten A. Raja
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Hiten@HitenRaja.com
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