BERT is rolling out to Google search in over 70 languages

BERT, the natural language processing algorithm that launched on English language queries in October, is now coming to over 70 languages globally, Google announced on Monday. Previously, BERT was only applied to featured snippets in languages other than English.

Why we care

With regards to search engines, BERT is designed to better understand the intent behind a user’s query, and Google has said that 10% of all searches are impacted by the BERT update. Now that the algorithm is receiving a worldwide roll out, Google search in those 70+ other languages should benefit from BERT’s language processing capabilities.

More on BERT

Here are some additional resources to help you understand BERT’s significance and why you can’t optimize for it.

• FAQ: All about the BERT algorithm in Google search
• Why you may not have noticed the Google BERT update
• A deep dive into BERT: How BERT launched a rocket into natural language understanding

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

George Nguyen

George Nguyen was an editor for Search Engine Land, covering organic and paid search. His background is in journalism and content marketing. Prior to entering the industry, he worked as a radio personality, writer, podcast host and public school teacher.