Your Google Search grammar errors are about to get an AI scrub

Google Search is apparently now an English teacher as, not only will it check your spelling, it will now check your grammar.

Available on both desktop and mobile devices, the aptly named grammar check tool will determine whether a sentence or phrase you entered is grammatically correct. If it isn’t, Google will offer suggestions on how to fix it. For example, typing in “the cat bite me check grammar” into the search bar will cause Google to respond with “the cat bit me” as the correction. Hovering over the fixed text makes a “Copy” button appear for quick copying. If you enter a grammatically correct sentence, the tool will simply respond with a green checkmark next to the entry.

Unlike spell check, grammar check won’t activate automatically. Instead, you’ll have to enter a trigger command such as “grammar checker”, “grammar check”, or “check grammar” at the end of a phrase. This is probably for the best as people don’t always enter full sentences into Google Search. It would get annoying really fast if every time you typed in a few words, the feature activated.

Limitations

There are some restrictions. First, it’s currently only available in English with no word if the update will expand to other languages. Next, the company is warning people that results “might not be 100 percent accurate, especially with partial sentences.” It’s recommended you stick with double-checking fleshed-out sentences instead, although the tool may still have some trouble.

In our experience, grammar check is unable to determine the difference between “less” and “fewer”. We entered, “My grocery cart has less items than the person in front” with a trigger command at the end. No matter what command we used, the feature would not activate. Because of its limited nature, Google is asking people to provide feedback which you can do by clicking the Feedback button on a grammar check result. A window will pop up where you make comments.

It’s also important to mention that the text you enter must adhere to Google Search policy. You cannot input profanity or anything hateful, dangerous, or medical in nature among other things. The full policy can be read on the Google Search Help website. 

We reached out to Google to ask if it has plans to expand to other languages and if this update is available in other countries or if is it US-only. None of the official pages mention any other global regions. This story will be updated if we hear back. 

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