Google+ continues to invade the search engine results pages (SERPs) with its “Ask on Google+” feature. It basically encourages users to ask their Google+ friends about what they’re searching for. However, this feature is only available to selected users.

As shared by a Google spokesperson on WebProNews:

“Our goal for search is to help you find the best answers to your questions, and sometimes the best answers come from your friends. To help you find those answers, we’re experimenting with a new link at the bottom of search results page which invites you to ask your friends for information about the topics you’re searching for. This link will appear for a small percentage of Google+ users who are particularly active on the service.”

How “Ask on Google+” Works

After scanning the result, you’ll see an “Ask on Google+” link at the bottom of every result page. Clicking on it will bring you to an overlay window where you can type your query. By default, the window is prefaced with “Hi there! I have a question about…” After posting the question, it will appear on your Google+ stream and it’ll be shared with your indicated Circles.

Helpful but Invasive Feature

Since many search engine users usually rely on their social media friends for answers, adding this type of feature makes perfect sense. But along with “Search, Plus Your World,” this is another feature that injects Google+ on the search engine giant’s result page. Furthermore, it doesn’t work if you’re logged out of your Google+ account.

There’s also the question of “Ask on Google+’s” intelligence. It’s good to know that search engines can detect when a user is having difficulty with a particular topic. However, Google’s new feature appears on every query, as pointed out by Danny Sullivan on Search Engine Land. Moreover, not many people are using the feature as of the moment. Regardless of this, “Ask on Google+” is the most useful integration Google has ever released in quite some time.

Other than the tip Sullivan got from his Search Engine Land co-author Tom Critchlow, Google hasn’t officially announced the feature yet. The fact that “Ask on Google+” is not yet official and unavailable world-wide means that the feature is still in its experimental phase. Nevertheless, this is one feature that will make Google a better Q&A platform than ever before.