‘Rich Answers’ and search ads coming to Google Assistant

Google is putting more graphics, tools and enhanced visual content in Google Assistant search results for Android devices. Calling the range of imagery and new types of content “rich answers,” the company appears to be harmonizing results in the Assistant with mobile search results more generally.

Snippets, onebox, knowledge panel, direct answers. The screens on the left below are “before” screens and those on the right reflect the new rich answers. Events, on the left, now have thumbnails and save buttons, the stock ticker on the right features a graphical chart and other enhanced content.

There’s a mix of snippets and other kinds of content in these results, some of which feature marked up content and some that do not. There are other examples and content categories in the blog post.

Ads come to Assistant. Google started testing ads in search results in Assistant in February. Now, it is making it official. If Assistant shows links to sources on the web, “When relevant, these results may include the existing ads that you’d see on Search today,” the company announced Monday. That means your search campaigns can extend to Assistant results — on Android devices.

Why you should care. The Google Assistant is now on more than a billion devices. As it moves from something of a novelty to a mainstream way users access information on Google, these results become more attractive to publishers, marketers and Google itself.

As some percentage of search query volume migrates to the Google Assistant over the next few years, companies will become increasingly focused on this real estate, and Google is starting to monetize it.

Recently, Google began a test of local services listings in Google Assistant results. This space is extremely valuable because there’s less clutter and more user attention.