Google Search starts testing new 'Short videos' search carousel, currently being piloted on mobile

Google had started testing Short Videos a few months back and now it seems that the test has been expanded to Search. Previously, it was revealed that the panel within Google Discover would showcase or highlight content from sites such as Instagram and TikTok within a scrollable carousel on Android devices. Now, with the extension of the new Short Videos to Google Search means that users may see a dedicated panel when searching for specific things on the desktop, according to a report in 9To5Google. The Short Videos carousel is different from Google’s Stories that rolled out in October 2020 to the Google Search app for iOS and Android. [caption id=“attachment_9162711” align=“alignright” width=“1280”]  Google Search app on mobile.[/caption] The Short Videos carousel is focused on aggregating social video from other platforms including Tagni, Trell as well as YouTube. The report added that the Short Video carousel appears when users scroll past the Google Knowledge Base box and both Instagram and TikTok videos are available there. A Google spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the feature was currently being piloted on mobile devices. However, the spokesperson clarified that it is a limited, early-stage feature. The report further added that while one may not find the video carousel on every search query as of yet, over time, it could become an interesting tool for indexing and surfacing top video content from social media.