Following their artificial intelligence project which aims to count the number of calories a food snap has on Instagram, Google now wants to count the number of calories and show people the nutritional content each fast food item contains.
Customers can either use the new function on the web or via mobile. They can even ask for calorie counts through "OK, Google" voice commands and Google’s mobile app.
Google rolled out the new nutrition information to search engine two years ago. People were able to get direct answers if they will inquire about nutritional values of a certain fruit, vegetable, etc.
“Tempted by some popcorn at the movies?” asked product manager Ilya Mezheritsky. “Ask ‘how many calories are in popcorn’ and you’ll get your answer. Perplexed by a food label or recipe? Ask ‘what nutrients are in breadfruit?’ or ‘is there sugar in grenadilla?’ Big on a high protein diet? Ask ‘how many carbs in corn?’ or simply search for [corn] and you’ll see detailed nutrition info.”
Now, Google is expanding this to include nutritional information on popular fast food items.
"We put the 'app' in bon appetit! From calories to carbs, the Google app now gives details about menu items from popular restaurant chains. #JustAsk #OkGoogle" the company announced in a Google+ post.
If an individual would want to know what exactly he or she is consuming, they can type "calories in a Big Mac" or say it out loud after "OK, Google" using voice search on their mobile app.
A box containing the food's complete nutritional information (calories, carbs, fats, etc.), will then show up on the result page.
Searching for a more generic phrase like “calories in McDonald’s” will put up a scroll box of all the fast food chain’s menu items, complete with calorie counts.
Consumers can also directly search for a fast food chain's full menu and click on each item to show its nutritional values.
Right now this only works for a few of restaurant chains inside the Google app, as well as on desktop search.
