• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, December 20, 2022

Google is testing the ability to search for spoken words in video through a feature it calls Search in video. The feature searches for any spoken word that is mentioned in a video.

The test is running in India, but at least one marketing expert has seen it run in the United States.

Glenn Gabe, president at G-Squared Interactive, noticed Google’s test in the United States. He posted a screenshot on Twitter as it appeared in the Google search engine results page.

“You will see an 'expanded' icon in the SERPs & then you can tap 'Search in video'," he wrote, showing an example of "404" in one of @johnmy’s older videos. The feature highlights the text and the time code, allowing the person searching to jump in at that point in the video.

Images and videos are a source of visual information, but it is sometimes difficult to find something that is buried inside a long clip.

For example, according to Google, when watching a long video about Agra, if someone is curious whether it also covers Fatehpur Sikri, the new feature being piloted will allow the person searching to find places in the video that mentioned it by entering a search term using the Search in video feature.

Google also plans to bring its multisearch feature, which allows users to search using images and text, to India. The feature will become available in English and will support Hindi next year. It lets users add a photo of a clothing pattern, for example, and add text like “shirt” to look up items with that pattern.

Google also announced a feature that is intended to protect important documents on a cell phone, as well as eliminating the process of hunting through the phone for specific files or struggling with copying important information within them.

The function, which is built with privacy and security as a focus, will allow users to store sensitive documents in the new feature called Files by Google.

For those storing passwords or important information on a cell phone, the feature could bring peace of mind.

The files are stored in an isolated environment on the phone and can only be accessed using a unique lockscreen authentication.

Google uses a custom artificial intelligence (AI) model to scan for and identify key documents in the phone, which then uses OCR technology and machine-learning models to recognize relevant text and collate this important information into a simple view.

All of the models also run offline, completely on the device, and cannot be accessed by anyone or any entity, including Google.

The function will initially appear in the Files by Google App on Android smartphones in India. Users can tap the new tab to access all of the important documents and information in one organized location.