Google to update News tab with focus on headlines, publisher names

Laying more emphasis on headlines and publisher names, Google is redesigning the News tab of its desktop search.

"Over the next couple of weeks, we're rolling out a redesigned News tab in Search on desktop. The refreshed design makes publisher names more prominent and organises articles more clearly to help you find the news you need," Google News Initiative announced on Twitter on Friday.

The updated redesign would bring the News tab closer to the dedicated Google News site and display stories in a card format rather than a list, making headlines and publishers appear clearer.

The company is grouping news stories on same topic together to let users looking for broader coverage on a subject distinguish different strands of the case, The Verge reported.

The updated News tab would be rolling out to users around the world in the coming weeks.

According to the report, even though the change itself is relatively minor, it is part of a larger effort by Google to improve its news products.

To make its news reliable, Gooogle has formed partnerships with news organisations, created new mechanisms to let users subscribe to publishers, set up programmes to fight fake news and relaunched its own dedicated News app with new AI features.