New Google app feature injects search links into third-party websites

In brief: Google has rolled out a new feature for its iOS app that essentially allows it to add its own links to third-party websites. Called 'Page Annotations,' it uses the company's entity extraction smarts to detect notable names, places, and things mentioned on a webpage, highlights them, and turns them into links that load up more info from Google when tapped.

The idea, Google notes in its Web Search Forums, is to let users "quickly get additional context about people, places or things – without leaving the site they're on." When you tap one of the annotated terms, it opens an overlay window on top of the website showing a Google knowledge panel with more details pulled from the search engine's database.

On the surface, it sounds like a handy way to get quick context while browsing. But there are those concerned about Google injecting its own ...