Google might have just revealed a sweet new climate preservation tool recently, but they are not planning on doing the same with the News Feed. At least, not yet. But for those who love the News Feed, there’s a worrying pattern emerging. You may have heard Chris Cox at F8, saying how he predicts Stories will surpass Facebook’s News Feed in terms of sharing sometime next year. Perhaps you noticed that Instagram also declared they would was revamping its Explore section (indicated by the small magnifying glass icon on your Instagram dashboard) by introducing content categories to help users locate their desired content. There is a fascinating change happening in how people are using content. And Google has contributed to that change by announcing that it’s axing Google Feed for something called Google Discover.

What is Google Discover?

“Hold on, I thought Google was all about search queries? You know, giving instant, relevant results based on what you’re looking for? Isn’t the search query the starting point?” Until last year, that was true. To understand the roots of Google Feed, we need to rewind to December 2016. Google rolled out an update to their app, featuring a collection of cards designed to “help you stay organized and informed about the things you care about." Essentially, this included a feed that kept you up-to-date on your interests, like sports, news, entertainment, and more.

This information came to you directly, without you even searching for it. The concept was that you could still use the Google app even if you weren’t entirely sure what you were searching for. Fast forward to July of the previous year, Google released another update. They enhanced their algorithms to become even better at predicting what users would find “interesting and important." They incorporated a feature that let users follow topics they were interested in. The feed had officially become The Feed. Yet, a little over a year later, Google is retiring The Feed and introducing Discover in its place. And honestly? They’re quite alike. However, that’s not to say they are exactly the same. According to Google, this shift was fueled by three fundamental shifts in how we will approach search in the coming two decades: the change from seeking answers to embarking on journeys; from specific queries to a query-free experience; and from text-heavy results to visually engaging content. At first glance, Discover seems to embrace all of these ideas. Here’s how it differs from the old Feed:

Topic Headers

Much like the Instagram Explore update we just discussed, Discover uses content headers to organize content into categories.

Without a specific search query, Google needs to understand your interests to provide more relevant content. When you select a topic, you will discover other related content within that category. You can also choose to “follow” that topic; although, it’s safe to assume that even without hitting “follow,” clicking on a topic will signal Google’s algorithm to start incorporating it into your feed (is it even appropriate to call it a feed anymore?!).

Evergreen Content

While the Feed primarily focused on current events—recent sports scores, political developments, etc.—Discover is packed with all that fantastic evergreen content we know and appreciate. In Google’s own words: “For instance, when you’re planning your next trip, Discover might show an article about the top restaurants or must-see attractions. Suddenly, a travel article published three months ago becomes relevant to you.” Sometimes the most suitable answer to a query was written weeks, months, or even years ago. This is precisely where evergreen content shines—and it’s something we want to have in the mix. But if you are actively planning a trip, would you rather conduct deliberate searches for activities or stumble upon travel-related content during your downtime when you’re just relaxing? We’ll come back to this later. Another impressive aspect here: Discover utilizes the Topic Layer in Knowledge Graph to gauge your expertise level when presenting content. For instance, if you’ve been watching tutorials on playing “Smoke on the Water” on acoustic guitar, Discover won’t suddenly throw this dude shredding pentatonic scales your way. Pretty impressive, right?

Personalized, but Not Overly So

Similar to Pandora, Discover has a “more/less” toggle you can click depending on whether something piques your interest.

This means if you’re into herb gardening, the toggle lets you see more herb gardening content. Want to see less of a certain political commentator or publication you’re not a fan of? That might be a bit trickier. Discover employs the same technology as Full Coverage in Google News so while it’s easy to customize your content generally, expect to still encounter a range of viewpoints in the news you consume.

A Brand-New Homepage!

Let’s be real…who actually uses the Google app? Okay, that’s a bit harsh—plenty of people do. However, a lot of people also use Chrome, Safari, or some other standard browsing app on their mobile devices. So, they might never even encounter or interact with Discover. But that changes now!

This is Google’s fresh mobile homepage, set to be released over the next few weeks. It allows you to start your search journey either by typing in a query or diving into Discover.

The Bigger Picture

Now, I don’t know about you, but there are times when I simply want to ask a question and get a straightforward answer. Most of the time, I’m not looking to embark on some grand journey. I don’t want a scenic tour of the city—I just want to hop in an Uber and go. As someone who’s been guilty of losing track of time scrolling through social media until sunrise, it’s logical that Google would aim to be more like Facebook or Instagram in some ways. There isn’t much motivation to passively spend time on a search engine. Discover offers “lean-back” users, whose numbers are constantly increasing, a platform to consume highly personalized entertainment with the Google stamp of approval. It’s a move towards less reading, more watching; less asking, more receiving. That’s the direction this is all going in. Is that a positive or negative development? The verdict is still out! As we stated when The Feed launched: the ability to target individuals based on the categories they click on or follow could be a powerful asset for advertisers. And with Discover now integrated into the standard web browser, that situation seems more probable than ever.