Google is planning to make Discover an AI concierge. The goal is greater usefulness; the risk is less traffic for publishers.
A new job posting for a Principal UX Lead for Discover, appears to indicate that Google is planning a substantial transformation of Discover, their recommendation engine for articles. The posting strongly suggests that Google plans to overhaul Discover into an AI-powered experience to become more deeply personalized.
The job posting shows that Google may be planning to change Discover into an AI-powered experience that anticipates users’ interests, helps them accomplish goals, and connects them with content and services across Google’s ecosystem. It describes a Discover that more interactive, deeply personalized, and more competitive with social media feeds. It’s possible that some of the changes are already being tested because I recently experienced suggestions for Meta Threads in Discover.
If these changes come to pass, this may mean a change to how publishers and creators reach audiences through Discover because what’s described is more than an effort to improve content recommendations. Google is describing a different purpose for Discover that leans more toward helping users act on information.
One of the most consequential changes to Discover is the re-conceptualization of it from a recommendation engine to a concierge. A concierge is a person that arranges services and obtains things on behalf of another person.
“Lead the design vision and execution to transform Discover into a proactive, hyper-personalized concierge experience that helps users make progress on their goals.”
The phrase “proactive, hyper-personalized concierge experience” suggests Google wants Discover to anticipate what users need rather than simply recommend articles based on past search patterns that indicate user interests.
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