Google has added a microphone to the Google.com search field on Android phones to enable mobile voice search on the Internet. This is curious, given the fact that users can already perform a voice search on the mobile Internet using an Android keyboard with a microphone.
But it seems that the search giant in the future will force search engines to use voice on all platforms.
New microphone icon. Below are Google.com search results screens - Android on the left side and iPhone on the right. The iPhone does not show the microphone, although the keyboard allows voice input. Search phrase: "What percentage of mobile queries is voice search?".
In addition to the microphone icon inside the search window, the main significant difference is that when users search on Android mobile devices, they will now hear a speech response, and not just receive “silent” results. The voice response is something that people who cook or appreciate driving behind Google’s search will appreciate.
But you could already voice search in the mobile network. The search bar on the Android home screen already provides access to Google Assistant. So Google does not offer new features.
So what is Google doing? In a sense, it just makes voice search and Assistant ubiquitous. It also helps people learn to use voice and interact with the Helper, which is a cross-platform utility and, therefore, “more” than a search.
Why should you care? In 2016, Google announced that 20 percent of mobile inquiries were voice. Since then, the company has not updated these figures, although today it is almost certainly more.
It is important to distinguish between voice search on smartphones and smart speakers. The latter is a new channel, the use cases of which have not yet been established. We use smartphones 24 hours a day.
As Google teaches users how to search by voice, snippets and structured data become even more important. There are already voice optimization methods that marketers must follow. And they mainly concern smartphones - at least in the foreseeable future - where the number of requests is likely to increase, thanks to such steps by Google.
The company Futureinapps is engaged in the optimization of sites for Google search. We will continue to acquaint you with the news of SEO!
