Google News first launched in 2002 as an automated news-aggregation service.
The project was developed by Google engineer Krishna Bharat after he explored ways to organize large numbers of news reports. Instead of presenting one manually selected front page, the service grouped stories from different publishers and displayed multiple perspectives on major events.
Google News became distinct from ordinary Google Search because it focused on timely reporting and news-specific organization. Its automated approach also raised questions about indexing, duplicate coverage, publisher relationships, and how algorithms should rank breaking stories.
The service has changed substantially since its early release, including redesigns and expansion into personalized news feeds. Google News is not the same as Google Discover, which recommends a broader range of web content based on user interests and activity.