Google’s new Live Game Feed will bring American Football stats, including player stats and fantasy football recommendations, directly into search.
Google has introduced a new NFL game-day features for its US user base.
The new features, including Live Game Feed, will offer detailed player and league statistics plugged into search, as well as the ability for users to link their fantasy football accounts to deliver targeted recommendations.
As the NFL season kicks off, Google will continue to bring fans in-depth insights into player and game statistics as more matches get played. To see the feature, fans simply search for the game they want and look for the red live icon for extended game information in real-time.
Later this month, these updates will also be available for collegiate teams.
New predictions for stats including which team is most favoured to win the championship, as well as likely brackets for the playoffs will also be introduced soon.
This move from Google could see it become a competitor to popular stats sites like Flashscore or even ESPN, bringing the zero-click environment to sports publishers.
Traditionally, sports publishers have been protected from zero-click as they often follow live games with as-it-happens commentary, so have been unaffected by AI overviews, especially for more in-depth player statistics queries – but Google’s updates threaten to end that security.
Users can even link Yahoo Fantasy or Sleeper accounts to Google Search to get tailored recommendations and customised insights within AI mode.
Users will be able to ask AI Mode for help with their fantasy line-up, and be offered a secure link to their fantasy account. The context from their chosen roster will be imported, and Google will be able to give recommendations on anything from start and sit to waiver wire targets without users having to manually input data.
Denise Ho, senior director of product management, at Google said game recaps will be shown alongside “dynamic timeline featuring play-by-play updates, top social commentary, key video highlights, and AI-powered insights”.
“Want to see how your favourite players are stacking up? We’re rolling out new stats this season that will show you the league leaders across categories like passing touchdowns or rushing yards, as well as more detailed player metrics like sacks, fumbles, and yards after catch,” she added.
