Google search is a powerful job hunting tool thanks to AI

After announcing a slew of new updates to its smart home, VR and mobile products, Google unveiled the latest feature coming to its core product: its search engine. Over the next few weeks, users in the US will be able to look for job listings on Google.com via a new tool called Google for Jobs. This function will make it easier to discover openings close to you, as well as positions that have been traditionally more difficult for existing portals to find and classify (e.g., retail and service jobs).

According to Google, "almost half of U.S. employers say they still have issues filling open positions," while job seekers aren't necessarily aware of listings available near them. The search giant says this is because of high turnover, low traffic and inconsistencies related to job posts that make them difficult for engines to classify.

Google for Jobs will be embedded in the search engine to help people look for jobs across experience and wage levels, and the company will be partnering with Monster, CareerBuilder, LinkedIn and Glassdoor to provide more context for its results. You'll be able to filter the results by post date, job title and more.

Google says it uses machine learning to match what you're looking for with the what employers use to describe jobs, since those terms often don't align perfectly.

The company already released a Cloud for Jobs API in November, and has been powering the career sites of Johnson and Johnson and FedEx, where it has seen improved rates of application per job search. If Google for Jobs becomes a better way to find open positions after it launches, let's hope the company soon turns its attention to other hard-to-nail categories like apartment rental listings.

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