For now, Google is rolling the feature out slowly and only to a limited number of users – “over the next few days” in just English to U.S. mobile users.
Advertisement
We tried a few symptom searches on Google Chrome and the Google App in Android, but it doesn’t look like the feature is active yet. Other search results will appear as cards that you can swipe on or drop-down menus that you can tap to see more information. So you open the Google app and start searching for your symptoms.
In response, Google provides an overview of potential conditions, possible treatments, directions on how to get more information online and which type of doctor may be able to help. According to Google, millions of searches are performed to check symptoms, and because of this, the company is revamping the symptom search experience. And while you should visit a doctor if you’re really concerned with your health, these cards will serve as a good starting place because they’ll provide quick info that you know isn’t being made up by some random internet troll.
“When you ask Google about symptoms like “headache on one side, ‘ we’ll show you a list of related conditions (‘headache, ‘ ‘migraine, ‘ ‘tension headache, ‘ ‘cluster headache, ‘ ‘sinusitis”, and ‘common cold”)”, product manager Veronica Pinchin said in a blog post.
The list of symptoms were created by looking for health conditions mentioned in search results and then checking them against high-quality information added to Knowledge Graph a year ago.
The update will start rolling out over the next few days in English in the US, but the feature is expected to be available in other regions and languages soon enough.
Advertisement
The symptoms update will roll out in the next few days, and it will be available first in the U.S. Google does say that medical search results are for informational use only and that people should always consult a doctor to get solid medical advice. Google says it’s hoping to cover more symptoms extend the service to other languages in the future.
