Google expands snippets to answer multiple questions in the search results

Google has expanded the featured snippets, the portion of text that is returned above a search result to give you quick answers without having to click through, as reported by TechCrunch.

The initial reason to provide more than one snippet in a query was to allow publishers to provide diverse perspectives, remove bias from answers, and remove incorrect information from the web.

In its blog post, Google explained it is adjusting this function because the questions we ask can be multifaceted and mean different things. For example, the terse, sample query “garden needs full sun?” could mean “what garden plants need full sun?” or “what counts as the full sun?”

Another example Google gives is “tooth pain after filling,” which could be understood as “why does my tooth still hurt after a filling?” or “how long should a tooth hurt after a filling?” Where before Google would previously only return one featured snippet (which hopefully addressed the question), it will now return multiple featured snippets that address different interpretations.

The change aims to cover "a broader set of nuanced questions beyond just "multi-intent" queries -- specifically those queries that seek guidance in doing something like planting flowers or fixing a leaky faucet. Google announced its plans to launch these multi-faceted snippets sometime “soon.”