Amidst new competition from startups such as Arc, Google launched five new features on Wednesday to enhance the search experience on mobile devices. The new features include shortcuts for local results, a refreshed address bar, trending search suggestions, live sports scores, and more personalized search recommendations based on users’ browsing habits. Both Android and iOS devices will receive the new features soon.
One of the new features is called Chrome Actions. It helps users do things more easily without going into settings. Now with Chrome Actions, if someone searches for a local business, they will see shortcut buttons to call them, get directions, or see reviews. This is available now on Android phones and will come to iPhones later in the fall.
Google also improved the address bar on Chrome for tablets. The new design lets users see the webpage they’re on while searching or going to a new site. This makes the most of the bigger tablet screens.
The search suggestions in Chrome will also be more helpful. If a user types “schedules” often and clicks the city metro site, that site will now show up higher in suggestions when they search “schedules.”
Chrome for phones will now show trending search topics, like the most popular things people are searching for. This feature used to only be on Android phones but is now on iPhones too.
Sports fans will like the live scores added to Chrome’s Discover page. It shows when favorite teams are playing and updates scores and highlights of recent games. Users can customize which teams they see in the app’s menu.
All of these changes aim to make Google searches and browsing easier and more personal on mobile devices. The updates should roll out soon, so users can try out the improvements to Chrome’s search features wherever they go online from their phone or tablet.
