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Google Search

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Google Search is a tool used to find information on the web.

Google Search with definition from Wikipedia on the right side
Google Search with definition from Wikipedia on the right side

You can type in keywords or phrases to find what you need. It is the most-visited website in the entire world. As of 2025, it holds a 90% share of the global search engine market. Many people use it every single day. About 24.1% of this traffic comes from the United States. Other large groups of users come from India, Japan, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.

A screenshot of suggestions by Google Search when "wikip" is typed (new)
A screenshot of suggestions by Google Search when "wikip" is typed (new)

To find your answers, Google uses algorithms. An algorithm is a set of rules used to solve a problem. These rules help the system analyze and rank websites. One important system is called PageRank. This system looks at links between different web pages. It assumes a page is important if many other important pages link to it. Google also uses deep neural networks to help its search engine work.

Product Sans typeface sample
Product Sans typeface sample

This helps the system understand the context of your questions.

This technology began a long time ago. It was originally developed in 1996. Three people worked on it: Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Scott Hassan. They even set up the search engine in a garage. This garage belonged to Susan Wojcicki in Menlo Park. In 2011, Google added Voice Search. This allowed people to speak their words instead of typing them. Later, in 2012, they added a feature called Knowledge Graph.

Google Search error of January 31, 2009
Google Search error of January 31, 2009

Google handles a huge amount of data. It indexes hundreds of terabytes of information from web pages. This includes files like PDFs, Word documents, and Excel spreadsheets. In 2009, they tested a new system called Caffeine. This upgrade made the search engine much faster. By 2012, the system handled more than 3.5 billion searches every day. In 2018, an update called Medic was released. This update helped make sure health websites provided good information.

AI Overviews result for What is Wikipedia, 2 March 2026
AI Overviews result for What is Wikipedia, 2 March 2026

Searching on Google is like using a giant library. It helps you organize your daily life. You can use it to check the weather or track a package. It can even show you word definitions or currency conversions. You can use a tool called SafeSearch to filter certain content. Many people now do most of their searching on mobile phones. This is because nearly 60% of searches come from mobile devices. Google helps connect people to the information they need quickly.

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AI Overviews result for What is...
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Product Sans typeface sample.svg
File:Google Search with definition from Wikipedia on the right side.png
Google Search with definition from...
File:A screenshot of suggestions by Google Search when "wikip" is typed (new).png
A screenshot of suggestions by Google...
File:Google Search error of January 31, 2009.png
Google Search error of January 31, 2009.png
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