Google confirms showing homework practice problems in search results

While most classrooms were off for the holiday break, Google was spotted testing homework practice problems and quizzes directly in its search results. The special search results seem to come from Toppr, BYJU’S and other after-school learning software companies.

What it looks like. Here is a screenshot we were able to trigger in Google search on mobile for the term [physics]. As you can see, it shows a question and then multiple choice answers, with the option for a hint.

An experiment. We asked Google about this feature and how publishers can participate. Was Google crawling this content from the web or partnering with certain publishers? “This feature is an experiment we’re running,” a Google spokesperson said, adding, “We’ll share more details about how the ecosystem can participate once it is available more widely.”

It seems like there may be a way to opt-in to show your practice problems in Google Search when this rolls out more widely.

More screenshots. Many have been able to replicate this over the past week, but the first one that noticed this was Shalom Goodman on Twitter:

Why we care. It is our hope that this is a feature that publishers need to opt into with Google and that Google does not simply crawl content on a website and generate these quizzes themselves. It is unclear if Google has some sort of paid partnership with Toppr or BYJU’S to make this happen.

We await to hear from Google about how more can opt-in to participate in this new Google Search experiment.