It has been confirmed by Google that it is testing a feature in the search results that asks searchers to submit a more detailed question to the company directly in the search results box. The box says, “Get the answer that you’re looking for added to the web.” When you ask your question, it is then fed to Google. In exchange, Google says that it may pass the question along to content creators who might be able to publish articles on their properties to better answer these questions.
Google wants to create more content that it can index that can, in the end, return to searchers. This will help searchers find what they’re looking for. This content won’t be given any special ranking boots, but will be indexed and ranked like any other piece of content Google discovers on the web.
Manashjyoti Athparia spotted this feature, posting in an online forum. The following screenshot of the user interface was taken by him, which shows this “small scale experiment”:
This small scale experiment, according to a Google spokesperson, was designed to continue surfacing high quality, relevant results for users by supporting a healthy content ecosystem. This comes from a place where Google feels that the searcher isn’t locating the content they are looking for. Google will then experiment with ways to highlight these questions to content creators who may be able to publish articles on their properties to better answer these questions.
Google’s goal is enrich the entire web ecosystem, and ultimately, improve search results for users who will be asking the same question later on. So far, Googles doesn’t plan on creating the content itself, nor are they going to be paying to create the content. The company won’t be sharing information with third parties beyond the actual text of the question typed by the user into the provided box.
Once the question is submitted, the box closes automatically after thanking the user. The following screen below shows the “learn more” content for this box:
