sick? Google wants to know

14 May 2009

Google has lauched an attempt to find out how internet searches play in the self-diagnosis process.

The company plans to start rolling out a subtle question at the bottom of pages with search results for a few common ailments. Questions will be like: "Did you search because you or someone you know may have an ear infection?"

However, this question will only appear for a minute number of users who search for terms such as "ear infection."

Dr. Roni Ziegler, a product manager for Google Health said the aim is to help Google begin to understand how many people are searching for treatment remedies or options as opposed to doing research. Understanding how many people are searching on Google for help diagnosing their health could improve future search results, the company thinks.

This is a temporary project: Google plans to gather data for several weeks, starting Wednesday afternoon.

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