Google Search has always had one serious drawback – if you’re not careful, it’s easy to click on a fake site impersonating a real business. Now the company is testing a long-overdue solution: blue verified marks that show a company is legitimate.
According to a report, checks have started appearing next to links to the official websites of corporations including Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon. The Verge. The checks aren’t showing up for all users, though, and Google has confirmed that the feature is still being tested.
“We regularly test features that help shoppers identify trusted businesses online, and we’re currently running a small experiment on Google that displays signs next to certain businesses,” a Google spokesperson said. The Verge.
If you hover over the icon, the message “this icon is displayed because Google signals that this business is who it says it is. Google cannot guarantee the reliability of this business or its products.”
The app appears to be based on Google Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) feature. It first appeared for Gmail, adding approved logos for emails from participating companies. Application Search tests are different, but can be taken from the database of the same organizations.
