Google has come under scrutiny for its method of ranking forums like Reddit and Quora in its search results. This is especially true in the “Discussion and Forums'' box that often shows up for many search queries. People are worried because sometimes these results can be harmful, especially those related to health.
Danny Sullivan from Google has been talking about these issues. He made it clear that Google doesn't just automatically show content from forums unless it really matches what someone is searching for. He emphasized that Google is always trying to make its search better and really listens to what people say about it.
Sullivan also talked about the specific problem of showing forum content for medical questions. He pointed out that while forums can offer helpful insights from personal experiences, the information isn’t always from medical experts. The could be misleading.
He suggested that Google might start showing fewer of these forum results for medical searches or maybe add warnings to let searchers know the information might not be from professionals.
On the social media site X, Sullivan again stressed that Google is serious about using people's feedback to improve search results. This includes showing less forum content for searches where getting accurate information is really important.
He also gave examples to show that forums like Reddit don’t always come out on top. For different searches about technology and products, sites like official support forums and YouTube videos often show up before Reddit. This shows that Google tries to give searchers the most helpful and relevant information, not just popular forum posts.
Google knows people have concerns, and it's working on making things better. However, fixing these issues might take a while because it's hard to get the balance right between being relevant, following what users like, and making sure the information is reliable.
Image: DIW-AIgen
Sources: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4.
Read next: UK Takes Major Step To Shape Future Of AI With New Rules Targeting Powerful Language Models
Danny Sullivan from Google has been talking about these issues. He made it clear that Google doesn't just automatically show content from forums unless it really matches what someone is searching for. He emphasized that Google is always trying to make its search better and really listens to what people say about it.
Sullivan also talked about the specific problem of showing forum content for medical questions. He pointed out that while forums can offer helpful insights from personal experiences, the information isn’t always from medical experts. The could be misleading.
I'm sorry my responses have come across as dismissive, if that's what you're referring to. I haven't meant them to be, nor are they being dismissed. The feedback has gone back; people are indeed looking at how to improve here.
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) April 12, 2024
To recap why I'd hoped it wouldn't been seen as…
He suggested that Google might start showing fewer of these forum results for medical searches or maybe add warnings to let searchers know the information might not be from professionals.
On the social media site X, Sullivan again stressed that Google is serious about using people's feedback to improve search results. This includes showing less forum content for searches where getting accurate information is really important.
He also gave examples to show that forums like Reddit don’t always come out on top. For different searches about technology and products, sites like official support forums and YouTube videos often show up before Reddit. This shows that Google tries to give searchers the most helpful and relevant information, not just popular forum posts.
Google knows people have concerns, and it's working on making things better. However, fixing these issues might take a while because it's hard to get the balance right between being relevant, following what users like, and making sure the information is reliable.
Sources: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4.
Read next: UK Takes Major Step To Shape Future Of AI With New Rules Targeting Powerful Language Models
