The company is preparing to roll out a new set of options on its search engine which will provide detail on why the results were ordered in the way they were.
The boxes will appear on the top right-hand corner of the results screen and inform the user of the general nature of the ordering, such as user geography, recent searches, or web history.
Google noted that the search process itself will not be changing, only providing the user with additional information.
"As we continue to refine our search algorithms to deliver more relevant results, we strive to be as open as possible about how we use data to improve your search experience," explained Google product manager Rachel Garb.
"This new feature doesn't change anything at all about how you search on Google and the results you get, it just gives you more of a behind-the-scenes look at how we customize your search experience."
The new information is part of a larger part of what Google calls its " commitment to transparency."
The company is attempting to further clarify its privacy policies and give a better explanation of how it operates in an effort to further ease user privacy warnings.
Google has not had good luck on the privacy front lately. Yesterday, the company made headlines when it told a US court examining its StreetView service that 'complete privacy does not exist.'
Google sheds light on search process
By
Shaun Nichols
on Aug 1, 2008 1:56PM
Google is going to tell users more about where their search results come from.
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