Google isn’t afraid to take a chance on outlandish-seeming projects but the company’s next challenge might be its most daunting yet: It wants to make local news relevant again. Quartz reports that Google is testing out a new feature for its Google Now mobile application that will deliver users more local news based on wherever they’re located. Johanna Wright, Google’s vice president of search, tells Quartz that the company wants the new feature to help users learn more about their neighborhoods and potentially get more involved in their communities.“It teaches me things about my neighborhood,” she explains. “For example, I found out Miss Mexico came to my son’s school, I saw that [the local] Chipotle was giving out burritos, and someone was stabbed in the park near my house. It’s very, very targeted to you and your interests.”
The local news feature is still in its experimental stages, however, and it’s not clear when Google will officially incorporate it into Google Now.
