Google's image format designed for faster web loading is WebP. It is an open raster-image format intended to reduce file sizes while preserving useful visual quality.
Google announced WebP on September 30, 2010. The format was based on technology acquired through Google's purchase of On2 Technologies and drew on the intra-frame compression approach used by the VP8 video codec. WebP is stored in a RIFF container and is closely related to Google's WebM multimedia project.
Unlike JPEG, WebP can support both lossy and lossless compression. It also supports transparency through an alpha channel and can store animated images, allowing it to cover roles traditionally associated with JPEG, PNG, and GIF. Smaller files can reduce download time and bandwidth, which is why WebP became popular in websites and content-delivery systems.
The main mix-up is assuming WebP is simply a replacement for JPEG. Its capabilities overlap with several formats, but the best choice depends on image content and workflow. Browser support is now broad: Safari added support in 2020, while Firefox had supported it since 2019.