Google launched Search profiles, a single shareable page for publishers and creators to “shape their presence” on Search and give readers one spot to track a source's recent articles, clips, and posts. Users can follow a source straight from its profile and then see more of its work surface in Discover, with the profiles reachable through a knowledge panel, from Discover, or via direct link.
Publishers and creators with a “sizable following,” which Google defines as over 100k followers on YouTube, Instagram, or X or more than 300k followers on TikTok, can claim and customize their profile, which then generates a knowledge panel for those who don't already have one.
Obviously, this is in direct response to backlash that Google is being hit with over its AI Mode and AI Overviews taking traffic away from publishers. Now Google can defend itself by saying — we provide a direct portal within our search, discover, and AI platforms to engage directly with creator and publisher content.
It's also a way for Google to further tap into the creator market without having their own social network, by effectively organizing the creator and publisher world in the same way they organized local business markets in the past. The move is incredibly smart, as aside from a personal website, there really isn't a major platform that pulls a creator's online presence from various platforms into one panel.
I look at these new Search Profiles as sort of like Google Business Profile for creators and publishers, and it wouldn't surprise me if the two worlds merged at some point in the future, given the overlap. (ie: Businesses are creators and vice versa.)
The feature is rolling out in the U.S. first, with wider expansion and added features planned. You can see if you're eligible for a Search profile here.
