14 DAY TRIAL // Google has recently announced that the search engine will provide significantly better symptom search results. It seems that the feature will roll out on mobile in the Google app over the next few days.
Symptom searches online are a normal reaction when someone is feeling ill, and they are performed either simply out of curiosity or because people want to be reassured that they don’t suffer from a complicated condition. However, they provide either inaccurate results or the terms found in results are too complex to understand for someone who isn’t working in the medical system.
According to a blog post by Google, 1% of online searches on Google are related to symptoms, and health content on the Internet can be difficult to navigate. That’s why Google has decided to roll out a new feature that allows users to search for health conditions more easily.
Google will provide better search results
When the user searches for symptoms like “headache on one side,” Google will provide a list of related conditions like tension headache, migraine or common cold. However, when an individual term is searched, like “headache,” Google will provide the user with an overview description, together with information on self-treatment options or will recommend a doctor’s visit.
In order to create this new feature, Google actually worked with a team of medical doctors and experts from Harvard Medical School and Mayo Clinic in the US, who evaluated conditions to improve the search results provided to users.
Obviously, symptom searches on Google are intended for information purposes only, and users should see a doctor in case their symptoms are severe and last for several days.
The update will start rolling out over the next few days in the US in English, but the feature is expected to be available in other regions and languages soon enough.
Google has also been busy working on its Android N, as the Developer Preview 4 was already launched last week.