Introduction to Google’s Disruption
Google has confirmed that some of its services, including Google Lens, Discover, and Voice Search, are experiencing disruptions. This means that some search results may not be appearing as they normally would. According to Google’s Search Status Dashboard, the issue started on June 12 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
What’s Happening
The company has stated that there’s an ongoing issue with serving Google Lens, Discover, and Voice Search results that’s affecting some users. They’re working on identifying the root cause of the problem and will provide another update within 12 hours. At the moment, the disruption is still marked as "Incident affecting Serving," which means the underlying services are online but not consistently delivering results.
Why This Matters to You
Google Lens, the Discover feed, and Voice Search are important tools that drive significant traffic to publishers, ecommerce catalogs, and local businesses. When any of these services go down or return incomplete results, sites that rely on them can experience sudden drops in impressions and clicks. This can be a big deal for businesses and websites that depend on Google’s services to reach their customers.
What to Do Next
If you’ve noticed a sudden drop in Discover, image, or voice traffic starting around 1:00 p.m. PT, it’s likely due to the outage. Check your website’s traffic and see if there’s been a decline that matches the time on Google’s dashboard. If so, it’s probably related to the outage, not a ranking change. You can share Google’s official dashboard notice with your website stakeholders and let them know that there will be another update from Google in 12 hours.
When Will Service Be Restored?
Google hasn’t said exactly when the service will be fully restored, but they’ve committed to providing another status update within 12 hours. In the past, issues like this have been fixed within hours, but sometimes they can take longer to resolve. Until Google publishes its next update, it’s best to assume that Lens, Discover, and Voice Search services will remain unpredictable.
Checking Your Website
The core web search experience is currently working normally, so you can still check your website’s ranking and do traditional query troubleshooting as usual. Just keep in mind that the disruption may affect some of your website’s traffic and performance.
Conclusion
Google’s disruption of its Lens, Discover, and Voice Search services is a significant issue that may affect many websites and businesses. By keeping an eye on Google’s Search Status Dashboard and monitoring your website’s traffic, you can stay informed and adapt to any changes. Remember to share updates with your stakeholders and be patient, as Google works to resolve the issue and restore its services to normal.