Since starting out on Snapchat, the Stories feature has swept through just about every social media platform there is, and now it’s heading to your Google search.
Yep, the gigantic tech company is starting its own version of the slideshow that will present fullscreen, tappable content from publishers in mobile searches. In other words, if you search for shit on your phone and, say, CNN has a related story, you’ll have the option to view it in that format.
You can think of it – for the moment – a little like Snapchat’s Discovery section which shows content from publishers rather than your mates. Really, it’s just another way of viewing results in your searches. You can check out what it’ll look like in the video below.
You’re probably not gonna see it just yet, though, the company still appear to be testing it at the moment. When it does start to show up, the Stories will be accessible under the heading, Visual Stories. The company made the announcement via its developer blog today, dubbing the feature, AMP Stories.
The AMP part stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages, a Google project that essentially helps load pages faster, kinda like Facebook‘s instant articles. While anyone is welcome to use the platform, Google’s only displaying Stories from certain publishers right now, like CNN, Conde Nast, Hearst, Mashable, Meredith, Mic, Vox Media, and the Washington Post brands.
Of course, only select people will be able to see the Visual Stories test, and the majority will likely be in the US, but it probably won’t be long until it rolls out globally. The company has also said the feature will eventually head to other Google products, too. So, uh, look forward to that, I guess.
Stories everywhere, folks. Can’t escape ’em. Everything will just be Stories soon.
