Google Discover feed (or technology recreating humanity)

Marta Peral Ribeiro (Communications Consultant)

The latest mobile version of the Google feed shows us personalised content on topics we care about, even before we type anything into the search box. The feed is now, more than ever, close to the feeds of the major social networks. But instead of following people, the user follows topics tailored to them (read: topics they're interested in). Say hello to Discover. Or rather: Discover is saying hello to you!

Marta Peral Ribeiro (Communications Consultant)

The latest mobile version of the Google feed shows us personalised content on topics we care about, even before we type anything into the search box. The feed is now, more than ever, close to the feeds of the major social networks. But instead of following people, the user follows topics tailored to them (read: topics they're interested in). Say hello to Discover. Or rather: Discover is saying hello to you!

You didn't ask, but Discover answers anyway

Until fairly recently, Google simply showed us the results for whatever we typed into the search box. Now there's Discover, which appears just below the search field and gives us recommendations based on our interests in particular topics. As Google itself puts it: "Discover is unique because it's one step ahead: it helps you find what you haven't even started looking for."

As well as images on those topics, we may also be served videos and links to news stories. In other words, there's a strong visual component, and that grabs our attention straight away, making it easier to interact.

How does Discover know what interests you?

No great surprises here: Google uses artificial intelligence to track what the user does on their device, both on the web and in apps. In other words, it draws on your browsing habits, cookies, history, location settings and contact details.

On top of that, users can deliberately signal what interests them by following a given topic, and indicate whether they want to go deeper into that interest (by selecting "more" or "less").

Hang on — wasn't the old feed pretty much like this already?

Broadly, yes. But now, besides the new name, the feed also has a more appealing look, with headers indicating the topic and an icon to "explore".

From there you can "Follow" whichever topic interests you, either lightly or in more depth. There you have it: here you're not following a friend but an interest — and that keeps you permanently up to date on the subject.

Meanwhile, as we've said, it's also far more interesting now, with topics specific to you and matched to your level of interest (and even understanding), than when it only showed news or trends.

In fact, it's broader on that front too: whereas Google News accepts a given piece of information or article only if it meets certain requirements, Discover goes beyond them.

What about Discover Ads?

This is one of the much-talked-about aspects of the new feed (even if Google has been curiously discreet about it): there are ads that appear in a carousel, sliding horizontally image by image, which is attractive for the many brands looking for more visibility.

And this advertising goes beyond Discover: the ads also run on the YouTube home page and in Gmail.

Advantages for advertisers

Because Discover leans heavily on imagery, one of the advantages for companies is that they can repurpose a campaign using assets already created for their social channels. You may need to resize the images, for example. Either way, the important thing is to keep things consistent across platforms.

In a way, the user gets an experience similar to the one they have on Facebook, say, with ads shown as a single image or in a carousel. This makes the interaction far more dynamic and interesting. We've written here before about the link between social networks and their ability to turn users into potential customers.

Every rose has its thorn: the limitations of Discover

In this case, there are two.

On one hand, because the ads are served automatically, advertisers can't tell which ads go only to the feed. In other words, within the mix of ads shown across different platforms (Discover, YouTube, Gmail), how do I, as an advertiser, work out what's going only to the Discover feed? On the other hand, advertisers can't gauge how visible their ads actually are.

That said, as the results have been positive, many advertisers are sticking with Discover and monitoring its performance. Through Google Analytics they can follow the path the user takes and see whether it turns into a new customer.

From the user's point of view, it's worth noting that, where news is concerned, the "personalised content" argument doesn't apply quite so much, given that the technology behind Google Discover is the same as Google News, albeit with fewer requirements.

Is Discover here to stay?

For now, it's still too early to judge the potential of this recent Google feed, which is still in beta. What's more, since traffic moves between different platforms (Discover, YouTube, Gmail), the reach of campaigns within this segment isn't very clear to companies.

One thing is certain: despite the current limitations on control, Discover has proved an excellent advertising vehicle and one worth investing in. After all, this feed is a high-volume, low-CPC (cost per click) channel, which is an added benefit for brands as they build recognition.

If you're still wondering whether users like Discover: they do. 800 million people use this feed every month.

Speaking of which… if you don't yet know what your next question for Google will be, don't worry: Discover will show you the way there. And so technology goes on reinventing humanity.

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