Sometimes when you use Google, you’re seeking information when timeliness matters, even if your query doesn’t spell that out. For example, when you search for something like “income brackets,” it’s likely that you’re looking for this year’s tax information, not last year’s.

On the other hand, for many queries, the most useful information isn’t necessarily found among the most recent web results. For instance, if you ask “Why is the sky red at sunset,” the underlying explanation doesn’t change over time, and the clearest description is often found on an older page. Prioritizing fresh content wouldn’t necessarily yield better results. 

At the core of Search is language understanding, and our systems don’t understand language the same way humans do. This is why we’re constantly developing new ways to better understand your searches and provide relevant results, especially in cases where there is useful context that is implied, like whether freshness matters.

As part of our ongoing efforts to make Search work better for you, a new algorithm update improves our systems’ understanding of what information remains useful over time and what becomes out-of-date more quickly. This is particularly helpful for featured snippets, a feature in Search that highlights pages that our systems determine are most likely to have the information you’re looking for. For queries where fresh information is important, our systems will try to find the most useful and up-to-date featured snippets.  

Here are some examples where fresh featured snippets are especially helpful. You might be looking for information that is updated on a regular basis, like the next full moon, the winner of a reality TV show, or upcoming holidays. 

Other information gets more accurate over time. For example, as an event approaches, we learn more specific details. A fresher page about an upcoming TV premiere might have more specific information and other useful content, like trailers, that you can click through to view.

Sometimes a query is related to current events, so fresh sources are particularly important. If you’re searching for a food recall, for example, you probably want to find the most recent information with guidance for that specific issue.

Content on the web is always changing—sometimes at rapid speed, depending on the topic—so our results for any given query can change along with it. (In fact, that’s why you may not currently see some of the results above.) 

We strive to always update  our systems to keep our results relevant and useful. Some of the changes we make may not always be obvious, but we hope we are always able to help you find the fresh information you’re looking for.

Sometimes when you use Google, you’re seeking information when timeliness matters, even if your query doesn’t spell that out. For example, when you search for something like “income brackets,” it’s likely that you’re looking for this year’s tax information, not last year’s.

On the other hand, for many queries, the most useful information isn’t necessarily found among the most recent web results. For instance, if you ask “Why is the sky red at sunset,” the underlying explanation doesn’t change over time, and the clearest description is often found on an older page. Prioritizing fresh content wouldn’t necessarily yield better results. 

At the core of Search is language understanding, and our systems don’t understand language the same way humans do. This is why we’re constantly developing new ways to better understand your searches and provide relevant results, especially in cases where there is useful context that is implied, like whether freshness matters.

As part of our ongoing efforts to make Search work better for you, a new algorithm update improves our systems’ understanding of what information remains useful over time and what becomes out-of-date more quickly. This is particularly helpful for featured snippets, a feature in Search that highlights pages that our systems determine are most likely to have the information you’re looking for. For queries where fresh information is important, our systems will try to find the most useful and up-to-date featured snippets.  

Here are some examples where fresh featured snippets are especially helpful. You might be looking for information that is updated on a regular basis, like the next full moon, the winner of a reality TV show, or upcoming holidays. 

Other information gets more accurate over time. For example, as an event approaches, we learn more specific details. A fresher page about an upcoming TV premiere might have more specific information and other useful content, like trailers, that you can click through to view.

Sometimes a query is related to current events, so fresh sources are particularly important. If you’re searching for a food recall, for example, you probably want to find the most recent information with guidance for that specific issue.

Content on the web is always changing—sometimes at rapid speed, depending on the topic—so our results for any given query can change along with it. (In fact, that’s why you may not currently see some of the results above.) 

We strive to always update  our systems to keep our results relevant and useful. Some of the changes we make may not always be obvious, but we hope we are always able to help you find the fresh information you’re looking for.

Nothing says summer like the jingle of an ice cream truck—and cooling off with a (quickly melting) tasty treat. But these days, Americans aren’t just settling for chocolate and vanilla.  To celebrate National Ice Cream Day on July 21, we’ve rounded up this year’s top trending ice cream-related searches across the U.S.—and found more people are looking to experience new flavors, types, forms and even temperatures. 

Global treats    

This year, searches for ice cream have moved away from your typical neighborhood ice cream truck and gone international. Searches for Mexican ice cream have gone up, thanks to people looking to have a taste of the raw milk, hand-churned, wooden-barrelled, sweet and spicy creation. Japan’s creations are also trending, with chewy and colorful mochi sparking interest, along with “fish ice cream,” or taiyaki, fish-shaped cakes that make tasty ice cream cones. And the Italian classic, gelato, has U.S. searchers craving its dense, silky texture. 

Gym worthy

“Keto ice cream” has reached the dessert menu, with people searching for options that cut out carbs. Similarly, Americans are searching for “protein ice cream,” which boosts protein levels by using milk protein concentrate or whey protein. Others who aren’t so diet conscious are searching for fried ice cream. After breading, the scoop is quickly deep-fried to create a crispy shell around it. It’s served warm from the outside, but with a cold, sweet heart.

Unconventionally frosty   

Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry are still ice cream royalty when it comes to searches. But they have some competition. Filipino Ube ice cream has warmed up to Americans with its intense purple color. And green ice cream, like matcha and avocado varieties, has also seen searches grow this year. Snow ice cream is also a big thing this year, and you won’t believe its main ingredient: actual snow!

In case you need a little push to decide what to order, here’s the full list of trending searches on this tasty topic:  

Top trending ice cream types in 2019 in the U.S: 

1. Snow ice cream

2. Keto ice cream

3. Mexican ice cream

4. Ice cream bars

5. Fish ice cream

6. Mochi ice cream

7. Gelato

8. Ice cream sundae

9. Fried ice cream

10. Protein ice cream

Top trending ice cream flavors in 2019 in the U.S.: 

1. Strawberry ice cream

2. Ube ice cream

3. Chocolate ice cream

4. Coffee ice cream

5. Vanilla ice cream

6. Oreo ice cream

7. Mango ice cream

8. Coconut ice cream

9. Matcha ice cream

10. Avocado ice cream

When astronauts set foot on the Moon 50 years ago, it was a technological triumph that sparked curiosity across the globe. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins inspired us to learn more about space and life here on Earth. A similar spirit of curiosity and exploration has always been core to Google, with our mission to make the universe of knowledge accessible to people around the world. So on the anniversary of the Moon landing, we’re bringing you new ways to learn about this milestone of human achievement, including new perspectives and stories that celebrate the lesser-known figures who made it happen.

Starting today, in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, you can get up close to the command module that carried Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to the Moon. To get started, search for “Apollo 11” from your AR-enabled mobile device. You’ll get the option to see the module in 3D, so you can zoom in and check it out from all angles. Using augmented reality, you can then bring the command module into your space—your bedroom, the kitchen or wherever you are—to get a better sense of its size. And later this month, you can do the same thing with Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit and examine what astronauts wore on the surface of the Moon.

You can also explore 20 new visual stories related to the lunar mission directly from Search. When you enter a space-related query—like “Apollo 11 mission”—on your mobile device, you’ll see visual stories from the Smithsonian about the mission, the spacecraft, and the people who made it possible. These full screen, tappable visual stories feature photos, videos and information about the space journey. 

One of the stories that I found personally inspiring was of Margaret Hamilton, known for helping coin the term “software engineering,” and creating the on-board software for Apollo 11. Among other tasks, this software made sure the Apollo 11 lunar module’s system could manage the information it was receiving and safely land on the lunar surface.

Google Arts & Culture has 40 new exhibits about Apollo 11, like Walter Cronkite’s reflections on humankind’s first steps, or a lesson on how to put on a space suit and pack snacks for the journey. There’s a lot to learn--the inside of your command module is a good place to take notes. And there’s more: starting July 15, Google Earth will have several new tours and quizzes to help you visually explore more about the Moon mission, NASA and the world of space exploration.

Space has always been near and dear to our hearts, whether it’s helping you explore the International Space Station through Street View, celebrate the first photo of a black hole, or simply satisfy your curiosity on Google Search. Try searching for “moon” (or “?”) on Google Photos to see your snapshots of our neighbor. Ask the Google Assistant questions to learn fun facts about the Moon, like what sports have been played on the surface. And be sure to visit Google.com on the 20th for another special Moon-related surprise. 

Apollo 11 continues to have a profound impact on our planet’s history. We hope this is just the beginning of your space explorations. ?

GIFs have become an essential part of communicating with friends and family. Whether we’re texting, emailing, or posting online, we’re always on the hunt for that perfect GIF. In fact, over the past five years, GIF search interest on Google Images has nearly tripled, as people search for the GIF that speaks most to them.

To make it easier to say “surprised,” “good morning” or “buenas noches” with the perfect GIF, Google Images now has a “Share GIFs” section that lets you share GIFs directly into different apps, including Gmail, Hangouts, Android Messages and Whatsapp.

This section is powered by our GIF search engine, something we've been investing in since our acquisition of Tenor last year. Shareable GIFs are made available by content creators, including our partners from streaming services, movie studios, and the YouTube community. Any content provider, GIF creator or GIF platform can submit GIFs to the new section on Google Images by either uploading GIFs to Tenor.com, or connecting with Google’s partnership team via this form.

GIFs appear in this section based on how likely they are to be shared, so that you can find a GIF that captures exactly what you want to say. This feature will be available starting today on the Google app for iOS and Android, as well as Chrome on Android. Over time, we'll bring directly shareable GIFs to more surfaces and mobile browsers, so it’s as easy as possible to share your personality with a cartoon, animal, or something else entirely.

When you’re searching for a song’s lyrics, often you’ll see an information box in Search that shows the lyrics on the page. This feature has been under scrutiny this week, so we wanted to explain how it works and where the lyrics come from.

How lyrics appear in Search

Lyrics can appear in information boxes and on Knowledge Panels in Search when you’re looking for songs or lyrics. While we do this to help you find that information quickly, we also ensure that the songwriters are paid for their creative work. To do that, we pay music publishers for the right to display lyrics, since they manage the rights to these lyrics on behalf of the songwriters.

Where the lyrics text comes from

Here’s something you might not know: music publishers often don’t have digital copies of the lyrics text. In these cases, we—like music streaming services and other companies—license the lyrics text from third parties.

We do not crawl or scrape websites to source these lyrics. The lyrics that you see in information boxes on Search come directly from lyrics content providers, and they are updated automatically as we receive new lyrics and corrections on a regular basis.

News reports this week suggested that one of our lyrics content providers is in a dispute with a lyrics site about where their written lyrics come from. We’ve asked our lyrics partner to investigate the issue to ensure that they’re following industry best practices in their approach. We always strive to uphold high standards of conduct for ourselves and from the partners we work with.

To help make it clearer where the lyrics come from, we’ll soon include attribution to the third party providing the digital lyrics text. We will continue to take an approach that respects and compensates rights-holders, and ensures that music publishers and songwriters are paid for their work.

It’s not quite caturday, and we’re a few months away from the dog days of summer, but searches for pets never paws. Around the world, people constantly ask Google questions about their furry friends, so there’s no time like the present for a good old fashioned (OMG-look-at-that-little) face-off.

Data visualization designer Nadieh Bremer, lover of canines and felines alike, worked with our News Lab team to capture all your cat-like curiosity about why your purr-fect pals (or barky buds) act the way they do using Google Trends data. Today we’re sharing a delightful new site that digs into those questions, and even throws us a bone and answers a few.

Quirky Questions

Why do cats like boxes? Why are they afraid of cucumbers? (Scaredy cats!) Why do they like to knead soft surfaces? You asked (literally), and we (attempt to) answer. Visit the site to explore these questions, and more!

Why do dogs...

• Lick

• Eat grass

• Eat poop

• Howl

• Hump

• Smell

• Bark

• Shake

• Scratch

• Bite

Why do cats...

• Purr

• Knead

• Lick

• Meow

• Bite

• Rub

• Scratch

• Eat grass

• Sleep so much

• Like boxes

Global Pet Preferences

We may not all definitively be a cat or dog “person,” but when it comes to searches, every country leans one way or another. Dive in and doggie-paddle around in nation-by-nation data.

If the site didn’t quite satiate your need for pet knowledge, I’ll leave you with my own assessment that answers some of the most iconic cat and dog questions of all time:

Do cats really rule? Inconclusive. Do dogs really drool? I’ve seen some evidence.