Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, is currently trialing the inclusion of check marks alongside certain company listings in its search results, according to a spokesperson’s statement on Friday. This initiative is designed to assist users in recognizing verified sources while avoiding misleading websites.
Fake websites that mimic legitimate businesses can surface in online searches, leading users to encounter inaccurate information about these entities. Such deception not only misleads potential customers but may also harm the reputations of the brands involved.
“We routinely explore features that help online shoppers identify reliable businesses, and we are presently conducting a small-scale experiment that displays check marks next to select companies on Google,” the spokesperson stated.
In addition to this new feature, Google employs automated systems to detect and filter out pages that contain “scammy” or fraudulent content, thus preventing them from appearing in search results.
Technology News reported earlier on Friday that it had observed blue verified check marks next to the official site links for well-known companies such as Microsoft, Meta, and Apple in search results.
However, not all users have access to this feature yet, indicating that the testing phase is not yet broadly implemented.
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