Google Search will index podcasts and even let you play them from search

At its 2019 I/O developer conference, Google announced a bunch of new improvements to its most-known tool, Search. Speaking earlier today, CEO Sundar Pichai revealed some news for podcast fans, as Google will start indexing podcasts.

Podcasts will get indexed by Google now, so search results will also surface relevant episodes based on content, not just the titles. Sounds like Google’s language processing AI is going to get a workout with that one.

Google search is now going to index Podcasts and even let you play them inside search. You hear that @marcmaron? #GoogleIO2019 #io19 pic.twitter.com/ESJCz2VDOm

— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) May 7, 2019

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Search will also let users listen to the podcast episodes straight from the search results, without having to click through to the site. I hope Google Analytics will still register those listens. Other podcast features include the ability to save episodes for later listening, again, all straight from the search results.

The announcements were kinda skimmed through, without details on how the new changes will affect podcasters or when it actually goes into effect. I guess we’ll find out, maybe even on a Google podcast. In any event, we’re sure to find out soon once all this I/O news dies down.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere. His hobbies include photography, animation, and hoarding Reddit gold.