Getting More Than Just Words in a Google Search Result

Google has trained its computers to understand what words mean, invested in new technologies like speech recognition and redesigned how it presents information.

Typically, Google hunted for Web-page text that matched the words in a search. But in 2013 the company released the Knowledge Graph, a sophisticated database with facts about specific people, places and things. Now, a search for "Empire State Building" returns a photo of the skyscraper, its location, height and tourist reviews. Links are listed below, but the idea is to provide information users want to save them a click. Google presents the information in boxes it calls "cards" that fit snugly on the small screen of a mobile device. Even on personal computers, these cards now take up much of the results screen. Smartphones pose big challenges for traditional search, because of their limited bandwidth, small screens and error-prone keyboards. Those hurdles will only grow with watches, in-dash car computers and other Internet-connected tools. But all those devices have microphones, opening up possibilities with voice commands.