Is Google about to make search results annoying? It seems so. We tend to have divided opinions about videos that autoplay. I’m not a fan and I’m sure there are many who agree with me. According to a new report, Google is testing out autoplaying videos in search results. In my view, that’s a really spectacular way of making your core product very annoying. Woudn’t you agree?
According to a report, Google is autoplaying videos in search results that bring up a video in the knowledge panel on the right side of the results. The video is played automatically when the search results page is loaded.
You can search for some movies and possibly even TV shows in Google right now and a relevant video that pops in within the knowledge panel will start playing on its own when the results page is loaded.
As we’ve seen with autoplaying videos on other platforms, the video is played with the sound turned off by default. The user has to click on the video for the audio to be enabled. The videos are not replayed so they autoplay just once.
The test appears to be limited to desktop users for now. The videos do appear in the knowledge panel on mobile but require a tap to play.
A spokesperson for the company has confirmed that this functionality is being tested, however, it’s not confirmed if Google will keep it for good. “We are constantly experimenting with ways to improve the Search experience for our users, but have no plans to announce at this time,” the spokesperson said.
Filed in . Read more about Google and Google Search.