Way back in September, Google announced a "fundamental transformation" of Search that would add several intelligent recommendation features. Among the most notable announcements was the imminent arrival of activity cards, which let you revisit results from searches you've made in the past. At the time, Google said this feature would be available later in 2018, but it's actually taken until now to begin rolling out to mobile web and the English Google app in the U.S.

As a quick refresher, this tool is meant to help you with long-term search sessions on subjects that you revisit repeatedly. For instance, if you have a special food regimen and you're kicking yourself for not saving a recipe you browsed past on a previous search, activity cards allow you to easily retrace your steps and find it again. All you have to do is search with the same general keywords, and your history with the subject pops up in an activity card ahead of the rest of the results. You can further customize activity cards by tapping the menu button at top right and deleting items or turning off cards. Plus, if you want to make sure you have easy access to a link, you can tap and hold the link to save it to a collection, available through the menu.

While this is undoubtedly useful, I do have some reservations about Google's larger shift towards more tailored, personalized results (as I mentioned when the feature was first announced). While living inside your own personal internet bubble is comfortable, there is something to be said for encouraging people to step outside of that bubble and experience all the different viewpoints and voices available on the internet. Still, that's not really Google's role. The Mountain View tech giant has been working toward a more customized Search for a long while - this is just the latest example.

Source: Google