Google Search has been struggling for some time to actually deliver results that people are looking for. In fact, sometimes, you put yourself at risk clicking the top URL on a search results page, since hackers could buy out the ad space and place their own deceptively malicious links there instead. However, it seems Google is working on ways to make Search a bit more useful—at least, when it comes to trusting the sites displayed are really who they say they are.
As reported by The Verge, Google is testing out a new verification system for websites in Search: When Google can confirm the identity of a website, you may see a blue verification badge next to the company’s name, similar to the badge social media sites use for verification. (Or, if you’re X, for simply paying for the privilege.)
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If you hover over the badge, you’ll see the following message: “This icon is being shown because Google’s signals suggests that this business is the business that is says it is. Google can’t guarantee the reliability of this business or its products.” So it’s not an endorsement of the company itself, rather a confirmation that this is the particular business you’re looking for.
At this time, The Verge has confirmed seeing the badge next to links for Microsoft, Meta, Epic Games, Apple, Amazon, and HP when accessing Google Search with a specific account. On other accounts, the badges didn’t appear for these companies, which implies Google is testing the feature out with a limited number of accounts for the time being. For what it’s worth, I don’t see the badges on any of my Google Accounts.
Google confirmed the feature to Mashable, telling reporter Cecily Mauran: “We regularly experiment with features that help shoppers identify trustworthy businesses online, and we are currently running a small experiment showing checkmarks next to certain businesses on Google.”
It isn’t the first time Google has experimented with verification badges, either. The company rolled out a similar feature to Gmail this month, which is built on the Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI): Whenever a sender has adopter this new platform, their name will be accompanied by a blue checkmark in emails.
