London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 29, 2025

MUM’s the word: What you need to know about Google’s latest update

MUM’s the word: What you need to know about Google’s latest update

Google is in the process of launching MUM, it’s first major search engine update since 2019. How does it work and what benefits will it bring?

Google has announced a redesign of its search engine that introduces a new way to explore topics using an artificial intelligence (AI) feature called MUM.

The search engine plans to guide users through topics that interest them in a more visual way.

It claims to be 1,000 times more powerful than its predecessor, BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers), first introduced in 2019.

But how can Google users expect to benefit from the changes?

What is MUM and what does it stand for?


MUM, short for Multitask Unified Model, is an algorithm created to search the internet across different languages and via images in order to find the answers to elaborate questions.

What do the changes mean for you?


Google users currently rely on the world’s biggest search engine for answers that are found in text or recommended links.

The addition of MUM promises a huge shift in what using the search engine can provide us. Users have previously been faced with difficulties regarding language barriers (eg searching in English tends to only lead you to English resources) and needing multiple searches to achieve a complete answer to their queries.

A key example would be the following: instead of producing two individual searches for "What is the weather like in Finland?" and "What is the weather like in Spain?" Google will present these results to you side by side. It will be able to cross-reference your query across 75 different languages.

Google is mostly focused on MUM’s ability to complete searches using images.

MUM has been created with the goal of bringing solutions based not just on text, but on multimedia such as images, videos, and podcasts. This could invite users to become more specific with their queries instead of relying on vague, SEO-friendly language.

How will these features affect users?


Google MUM’s three primary features include:

Topic zooming

Being able to jump in and out of topics related to your search seamlessly.

'Things to know'

Presenting pathways for the user through related topics to make follow-up searches more efficient. Searching a person, event, or object would lead to Google recommending a series of extended pathway searches that help you learn more about the topic you searched.

For example, searching "guitar" would present you with a number of pathways: "how to play," "where to buy," "tips," and so on.

Visually browsable search results


This feature is already present in the search engine and targets users looking to find inspiration in fields where a visual aid would be useful.

Searches about hobbies like decorating, cooking, and fashion will provide options for the usually to visually explore the topic.

You could search for garden decorating ideas and be presented with a host of options from a number of sources that come in the form of browsable images.

How will this affect the search engine?


Google has faced criticism from publishers and website owners for encouraging users to stick to the first ten links presented to them on Page One of its results.

This move could provide a shift in that strategy by encouraging users to delve into smaller, independent resources through the encouragement of pathways and pictures.

MUM could also come as good news for critics of SEO by allowing website owners to publish in accordance with what the service/information provided is actually about, but this is yet to be seen.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
×