Google now shows a card to compare products in search results

Google has started to show crude product comparisons in search results on mobile and desktop.

The feature works for only some kinds of products, like smartphones, tablets, and gaming consoles.

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For example, if you search for “ipad pro vs pixel c” to see how the tablets stack up, Google will show you a card outlining some specifications for base models of the two products, listed side by side. Other websites contain this sort of information — and much more, certainly — but now it’s easier to access right from a Google search.

The widget does not appear capable (yet!) of comparing more than two products at once. That could drive users to run multiple searches.

The launch of this card is part of an ongoing pattern of search engines attempting to answer questions with specific information about certain known entities, instead of producing an endless stream of websites, however relevant they might be. And it’s more important now in the age of the Google Home — rather than listing out search results on a display, with that smart speaker and the underlying Google Assistant, Google has begun to take a good guess at what the user is referring to and what they want to know about it.

Google did once offer Google Compare, a tool for evaluating different credit cards, mortgages, and insurance options. But it was shut down earlier this year.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.