Editing Google Search (section)

{{short description|Search engine from Google}}
{{Redirect|Google.com|the company itself|Google}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Google Search
| logo = Google Favicon 2025.svg
| logo_size = 100px
| logo_caption = New Google Logo since May 12, 2025
| screenshot = Google Search screenshot in 2025 (EN).png{{!}}border
| caption = Google Search on desktop as of May 24, 2025
| url = {{Official URL}}
| commercial = Yes
| type = [[Web search engine]]
| registration = Optional
| language = 149 languages
| programming_language = {{Hlist|[[Python (programming language)|Python]]|[[C (programming language)|C]]|[[C++]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine |url=http://infolab.stanford.edu/~backrub/google.html |access-date=January 27, 2009 |publisher=Computer Science Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA |archive-date=April 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425160729/http://infolab.stanford.edu/~backrub/google.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| launched = {{Ubl|{{Start date and age|1995}} (first prototype)|{{Start date and age|1997}} (final launch)}}
| owner = [[Google]]
| revenue = [[Google Ads]]
| current_status = Online
| ipv6 = Yes<ref>{{Cite web |last=York |first=Dan |date=June 6, 2016 |title=Google's IPv6 Stats Hit 12% on Fourth Anniversary of World IPv6 Launch |url=http://www.circleid.com/posts/20160606_google_ipv6_stats_hit_12_percent_on_4th_anniversary_of_world_ipv6/ |access-date=August 5, 2019 |website=CircleID |archive-date=November 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128031909/http://www.circleid.com/posts/20160606_google_ipv6_stats_hit_12_percent_on_4th_anniversary_of_world_ipv6/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

'''Google Search''' (also known simply as '''Google''' or '''Google.com''') is a [[search engine]] operated by [[Google]]. It allows users to search for information on the [[World Wide Web|Web]] by entering keywords or phrases. Google Search uses [[algorithm]]s to analyze and rank [[website]]s based on their relevance to the search query. It is the most popular search engine worldwide.

Google Search is the [[List of most-visited websites|most-visited website in the world]]. As of 2025, Google Search has a 90% share of the global search engine market.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Search Engine Market Share Worldwide |url=https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=StatCounter Global Stats |language=en}}</ref> Approximately 24.84% of Google's monthly global traffic comes from the [[United States]], 5.51% from [[India]], 4.7% from [[Brazil]], 3.78% from the [[United Kingdom]] and 5.28% from [[Japan]] according to data provided by [[Similarweb]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.similarweb.com/website/google.com/#geography|title=google.com|website=similarweb.com}}</ref>

The order of search results returned by Google is based, in part, on a priority rank system called "[[PageRank]]". Google Search also provides many different options for customized searches, using symbols to include, exclude, specify or require certain search behavior, and offers specialized interactive experiences, such as flight status and package tracking, weather forecasts, currency, unit, and time conversions, word definitions, and more.

The main purpose of Google Search is to search for text in publicly accessible documents offered by web servers, as opposed to other data, such as [[Image search|images]] or [[Database search engine|data contained in databases]]. It was originally developed in 1996 by [[Larry Page]], [[Sergey Brin]], and [[Scott Hassan]].<ref name="vanityfair">{{Cite web |last=Fisher |first=Adam |date=July 10, 2018 |title=Brin, Page, and Mayer on the Accidental Birth of the Company that Changed Everything |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/07/valley-of-genius-excerpt-google |access-date=August 23, 2019 |website=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |archive-date=July 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704184309/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/07/valley-of-genius-excerpt-google |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=McHugh |first=Josh |date=January 1, 2003 |title=Google vs. Evil |url=https://www.wired.com/2003/01/google-10/ |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |access-date=August 24, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=D'Onfro |first=Jillian |date=February 13, 2016 |title=How a billionaire who wrote Google's original code created a robot revolution |work=[[Business Insider]] |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/a-look-back-at-willow-garage-2016-2 |access-date=August 24, 2019 |archive-date=August 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824075346/https://www.businessinsider.com/a-look-back-at-willow-garage-2016-2 |url-status=live }}</ref> The search engine would also be set up in the garage of [[Susan Wojcicki]]'s [[Menlo Park, California|Menlo Park]] home.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/10/business/susan-wojcicki-dead.html|title=Susan Wojcicki, Former Chief of YouTube, Dies at 56|first1=John|last1=Yoon|first2=Mike|last2=Isaac|work=New York Times|date=August 10, 2024|accessdate=August 10, 2024}}</ref> In 2011, Google introduced "[[Google Voice Search]]" to search for spoken, rather than typed, words.<ref name="Official announcement">Google (Tue June 14, 2011) [https://www.google.com/insidesearch/press.html#blog Official announcement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731120836/https://www.google.com/search/about/#blog |date=July 31, 2020 }}</ref> In 2012, Google introduced a [[semantic search]] feature named [[Knowledge Graph]].

Analysis of the frequency of search terms may indicate economic, social and health trends.<ref name="Pulse">{{Cite book |last=Hubbard |first=Douglas |title=Pulse: The New Science of Harnessing Internet Buzz to Track Threats and Opportunities |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2011}}</ref> Data about the frequency of use of search terms on Google can be [[open data|openly]] inquired via [[Google Trends]] and [[Google Flu Trends|have been shown to correlate]] with [[flu]] outbreaks and unemployment levels, and provide the information faster than traditional reporting methods and surveys. As of mid-2016, Google's search engine has begun to rely on [[Deep learning#Deep neural networks|deep neural networks]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Soon We Won't Program Computers. We'll Train Them Like Dogs |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2016/05/the-end-of-code/ |access-date=May 30, 2018}}</ref>

In August 2024, a US judge in Virginia ruled that Google held an [[Monopoly|illegal monopoly]] over Internet search and search advertising.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barakat |first1=Matthew |last2=Liedtke |first2=Michale |date=August 5, 2024 |title=Google illegally maintains monopoly over internet search, judge rules |url=https://apnews.com/article/google-antitrust-search-engine-verdict-apple-319a61f20fb11510097845a30abaefd8 |accessdate=August 6, 2024 |publisher=Associated Press}}</ref><ref name="The Economist">{{Cite news |title=A court says Google is a monopolist. Now what? |url=https://www.economist.com/business/2024/08/06/a-court-says-google-is-a-monopolist-now-what |access-date=2024-11-18 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> The court found that Google maintained its market dominance by paying large amounts to phone-makers and browser-developers to make Google its default search engine.<ref name="The Economist"/> In April 2025, the trial to determine which remedies sought by the Department of Justice would be imposed to address Google’s illegal monopoly, which could include breaking up the company and preventing it from using its data to secure dominance in the AI sector.{{Update inline|date=May 2025|reason=The date of the court case has passed.}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Montoya |first1=Karina |title=DOJ Sets Record Straight of What's Needed to Dismantle Google's Search Monopoly |url=https://www.techpolicy.press/doj-sets-record-straight-of-whats-needed-to-dismantle-googles-search-monopoly/ |access-date=2025-04-24 |publisher=Tech Policy Press |date=2025-03-13}}</ref>