Google has announced a new feature that will make it far easier to follow your preferred content creators, journalists, and online personalities without having to switch apps. 

The new feature, which is called Search profiles, puts you, the eligible publisher and creator, in a dedicated area where you can feature your content across the web. It’s a virtual hub that gathers in one place the latest articles, videos, social media posts, and other relevant links of a creator.

A hub for creators on Google

For many years, it has been a common experience to follow a creator from one platform to another — YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X, creator websites, and newsletters. Google has now introduced new Search profiles to diminish this friction. Creators eligible can enhance their profile with an avatar, bio, website, and links to their social and video channels. Most importantly of all, the profile is a one-stop location in which viewers can find new content without having to search the web.

The feature also aims to help creators be followed. Users can now directly follow publishers and creators from their Search profile, which should boost the chances that they’ll see more content in their Google Discover feed in the Google app.

Discover becomes a bigger piece of the puzzle

The shift is a sign of Google’s push to make search more than a search engine, as it already has become. It’s becoming more popular to follow people and sources, as users subscribe to creators on social media. Search profiles can be accessed via a creator’s Knowledge Panel, by tapping a creator’s name in Discover or via a direct web link. Google claims that at launch, creators with a large audience on one of the major social or video platforms will be able to claim and customise their profiles.

A Knowledge Panel may also be developed, for eligible creators, if they claim a Search profile. Existing Knowledge Panels will also have their profile images updated, their content will be updated, and they will have direct links to the new profile page. It will start rolling out in the U.S., and Google says it will keep rolling out over time and increase availability.With that, Google’s Search results might be a much more useful list of links to creators trying to stand out online, and for fans trying to keep it straight.