Google will better tailor feed in mobile app to user

Google refreshes the feed present in the Google app. Articles are now grouped by search trends and topics the user is interested in. The user can also follow topics from search results.

Google has tweaked the machine learning algorithms it uses for the feed to offer users more personalized topics, the company said. The content of the feed depends on the user’s interaction with Google, but after the update, the app will also recommend articles based on global and local search trends.

In addition, users can indicate which topics they want to be kept informed about. Furthermore, the user can now choose to follow his favorite topics via a button that appears under search results. After this, the user will receive updates and articles about this via the feed.

To prevent users from ending up in a filter bubble too much, the feed offers topics from multiple sources and from different perspectives, Google promises. In addition, where possible, the opportunity is given to fact-check topics. At the top of every topic in the feed, Google places headers; a click on this should cause a search for those terms so that users can find more about them.

The update is available immediately in the US for the Google app on iOS and Android. Users in other countries will receive the update in the coming weeks. Google introduced the feed in its app in December 2016. Google’s engineering vice president Ben Gomes told Reuters that one difference with Facebook’s feed is that friends’ interests don’t matter. He also said that Google has no immediate plans to add ads.