Some Google users have seen verified checkmarks appear next to businesses in search results. — Photography SIphotography/Getty Images/AFP Relaxnews
Google is currently testing a certification system in its search engine for certain businesses. This takes the form of a little blue checkmark designed to authenticate their identity, similar to what's already seen in Gmail. The idea is to prevent users being fooled by fraudulent sites.
According to several US media sources, including The Verge, only a few brands are part of this trial for the time being, including Apple, Meta and Microsoft. Placed next to the site name in Google's search results, the blue checkmark is intended to show that the site in question is trustworthy. Internet users who see this type of badge can hover over the checkmark to see a message stating that the link in question does indeed relate to the company it claims to be, rather than being a fake or copycat website.
However, the badge itself is not an absolute guarantee of security. Google's system is based on certain "signals" that suggest a business is the business that it claims to be, but the system may not yet necessarily be 100% reliable. However, the idea behind this new feature is to enable internet users to carefully identify trustworthy online businesses. For the time being, this system is being tested on a very limited scale, with no certainty that Google will ever roll it out fully.
Gmail already has this type of checkmark. It plays an important role in the fight against spam by attesting that the company writing to you is indeed the verified company it claims to be. The arrival of such technology in Google's search engine could help combat scams, particularly false or misleading advertising, which sometimes ranks highly in search results. – AFP Relaxnews
