Google retires the sitelinks search box after 10 years
What's the story
In a major move, Google has announced that it will be killing the sitelinks search box, a feature that lets users search within particular websites. The change will come into effect on November 21, 2024. The decision comes more than a decade after the feature's launch and is due to a drastic decline in its usage over the years.
Official announcement
Google's statement on the feature removal
In an official statement, Google explained its decision: "It's been over 10 years since we initially announced the sitelinks search box in Google Search, and over time, we've noticed that usage has dropped." "With that, and to help simplify the search results, we'll be removing this visual element starting on November 21." By removing the underutilized feature, the tech giant aims to streamline its search results.
User experience
Impact of the change
The removal of the sitelinks search box won't impact users who didn't know about or rarely used this feature. After the November deadline, Google intends to stop showing the box in all languages and countries. The move comes as part of a series of changes being introduced by Google as it continues to integrate AI into its search engine operations and revamps its Search team.