Google is testing public notes on links in search results

Google is starting to test a feature in the US and India to annotate links in search results. All logged in users can post notes and everyone can see them.

These notes first go through a human moderator to ensure that they are a useful addition, reports Google. If so, it will appear in the search engine at the relevant link for every user who has the function enabled. Google says it uses the moderation experience of the Google Maps and YouTube teams to prevent abuse.

The feature is being released as a Labs test in the US and India and only users who enable the feature in Labs will be able to see and use it. The function will probably be released in more countries later and the intention will be to leave the test phase at that time.

In the Google app for iOS and Android, users can also indicate that they want to follow search results on a specific topic. These then appear in the Discover feed in the app. That function is immediately widely available, although it only works with the US English language setting.