Google News gets a redesign at Google I/O

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As previously rumored, the Google News app is getting a refresh. The changes were announced at today’s I/O conference in Mountain View, California.

As confirmed by Google’s Trystan Upskill, the Google New refresh has three objectives, including:

1. Keep up with news you care about
2. Understand the full story
3. Enjoy and support the news sources you love

Today we're rolling out an all-new @GoogleNews—using the best of AI to organize what’s happening in the world to help you learn more about the stories that matter to you → https://t.co/z8234zDXU1 #io18 pic.twitter.com/6QkX6x6OiD

— Google (@Google) May 8, 2018

Additionally, Upskill explained that artificial intelligence would play a more significant role in determining what we see in Google News moving forward:

Our AI constantly reads the firehose of the web for you, the millions of articles, videos, podcasts and comments being published every minute and assembled the key things you need to know.

Google News also pulls in local voices and news about events in my area. It’s this kind of information that helps [users] feel connected to their community.

There’s also a new Google News video format called Newscasts.

As Upskill noted:

Newscasts are kind of like a preview of a story and they make it easier for you to get a feel for what’s going on.

Finally, there’s the “Full Coverage” feature that uses AI to present users with information about people, places, and events that are part of a given story. By offering you links to this information, Google hopes you dig more into the news.

Google News getting a "Full Coverage" feature to show stories from a variety of sources. Will include tweets, fact checks & more. "Everyone has access to the same information" & everyone sees the same content "It's unfiltered view of events from a range of trusted news sources"

— MAT HONAN (@mat) May 8, 2018

Upskill concludes “It’s an unfiltered view of events from a range of trusted news sources.”

Finally, the Google News experience will soon begin with a “For You” section. It’s here where you’ll see a news briefing that consists of five top stories containing a mix of global headlines, local news, and new developments on stories you previously followed.

The updated Google News should launch soon across various platforms and comes hot on the heels of some new Google Assistant updates and news.