Hey there, Google Search! How are you holding up? Recently, it seems you’ve faced some challenges, with scams infiltrating your search results and your new AI companion, Gemini, suggesting questionable pizza toppings like glue. Is this why you’re experimenting with verification badges that resemble those seen on Twitter, appearing next to verified URLs in your search results?
The Verge has identified these verification badges alongside reputable companies in Google search results, leading users directly to their official websites. Notable names like Amazon, Apple, Epic Games, HP, Meta, and Microsoft have been spotted with these badges, though they aren’t visible to all users—sometimes even the same person logged into different accounts sees different results.
The badge comes with a pop-up message stating, “This icon is being shown because Google’s signals suggest that this business is the business that it says it is,” although it amusingly neglects to define the term “tautology.” The message concludes with some legal disclaimers, clarifying that “Google can’t guarantee the reliability of this business or its products.”
Given that many users are already familiar with the significance of visual cues like colored checkmarks, this move makes sense. Despite the controversies surrounding Twitter’s verification system post-Musk acquisition, the colored checkmarks still symbolize legitimacy in social media.
However, implementing this feature across the web poses challenges for automation, and Google’s cautious wording raises questions about the future of this initiative. It’s uncertain whether this will become a standard feature in Google’s search engine anytime soon.
