Google MUM stands for Multitask Unified Model, which means that it can understand the information in different formats such as webpages, pictures, and other formats using AI-powered algorithms to improve user’s online search capability.
Since the launch of Google, it has inexorably become the go-to search engine for users of the internet. Google has created an algorithm that prioritizes getting the information that will be most helpful to the user based on their search queries.
But as extremely efficient Google is in doing its job of supplying the world with information, is there anything else it can improve on?
Enter MUM.
Google aims to give you content that will answer all of your queries with lesser searches and more value to each query. That is why they have introduced one of their latest updates, MUM.
In this article
- What is MUM?
- What is BERT?
- Does MUM Know Better Than BERT?
- Breaking Language Barriers with Google MUM
- Benefits of MUM
- How Does MUM Affect SEO?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Looking Forward to What Google MUM Can Do
- Similar Posts
What is MUM?
MUM stands for Multitask Unified Model, is an update that uses an AI-powered algorithm to help users find more helpful information faster. It uses the T5 text-to-text framework in accomplishing complex tasks. This is a breakthrough in the development of natural language processing (NLP), a branch of AI that is concerned with enabling computers to understand the text and spoken words similar to the way humans do.
It’s so advanced, according to Google, it’s 1,000 times more powerful than the BERT language model. Later in the article, we’ll get more in-depth with what BERT is (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) to give you a better perspective as to how big of an update MUM is.
Google MUM is able to develop a more comprehensive understanding of information and world knowledge. Gone are the days when you need to conduct multiple searches about a complex topic to gain a deeper insight. This new update makes Google much more intuitive to the needs of users.
One of the reasons that it is able to do this is because it’s trained across 75 different languages. This means that it can translate 75 different languages and since it’s multimodal, this includes understanding both text and images.
With this, it can consolidate complex and diverse amounts of information, even from local resources. This gives users an extremely comprehensive and holistic search experience since Google can now answer complex search queries. We’ll get deeper into detail with this later in the article.
What is BERT?
BERT is a language representation model. It stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers. It was introduced in 2019 through a paper published by researchers at Google AI Language.
BERT makes use of Transformers to understand the contextual relations between words in a text.
BERT was a breakthrough back then because the Transformer encoder reads the entire sequence of words at once. This allows BERT to understand the context of a word based on the words both in its left and right directions.
For reference, earlier models were directional, which meant that they read the text from left to right or right to left. So the ability to read the text as a whole is a big step to understanding context better, much the way humans do.
Does MUM Know Better Than BERT?
Even though Google MUM is only 3 years after BERT, its advancements are pronounced. BERT was able to understand the context of the words of resources. This gave it the ability to deliver more accurate results for simple and common questions.
But Google MUM can deliver and analyze content and resources that offer a more in-depth understanding of complex topics. As stated by Google, it’s 1,000 times more powerful than BERT.
MUM is still in its early stages. There’s still a lot to work on and we need to give it time to see if it can deliver what Google has promised MUM can do. But with the potential it holds, can we count on MUM to know best?
Breaking Language Barriers with Google MUM
Google holds a large repository of knowledge, not just in the English language. As our world comes closer together and it’s easier for us to reach out to languages outside our own, there’s more demand for local knowledge.
Unfortunately, information tends to be distorted if you’re not a natural speaker of the language in the information you need. There are culture-specific parts of any information that you may miss if you don’t speak the given language fluently.
MUM breaks down these language barriers and opens up new treasure troves of knowledge to anyone who wants to access these. As of to date, MUM is currently trained in 75 different languages.
Additionally, Google MUM will make sure that you get not just plain answers but answers you’d expect from someone who is an expert on the matter and is excited to tell you more. This includes detailed and extensive resources that will help you learn more, all in the language that you understand.
This opens up so many new possibilities, not just for users but also for businesses and marketers.
Google MUM will now give businesses and marketers the opportunity to understand their target market on a whole new level. It gives them insights into local perspectives, cultures, and practices that can greatly impact any business. It also allows them to study what strategies will perform better in these locations.
Benefits of MUM
MUM is now opening doors to the possibilities of gaining more insight and a deeper understanding of our search queries. Instead of giving us a single answer to our questions, it’s now able to take into context what other information will be helpful to the user. This change will push content that prioritizes user experience and intent to new heights.!
Google’s MUM update will revolutionize how we look for and consume content. Now, everyone can more easily focus on providing content that holistically addresses concerns and queries.
How Does MUM Affect SEO?
There is no doubt that MUM is going to be a big change for businesses and users. MUM also changes how we approach search engine optimization (SEO). Here are a few of the adjustments we can expect with what we know so far about the capabilities of Google MUM.
More Intense Competition for Search
MUM widens the reach of people to explore in a much more intuitive and in-depth way. With this in mind, SEO experts can expect an increase in competition for search.
Google MUM breaks down language barriers. If you’re targeting an audience that is halfway across the world, your content is competing with that of local resources that may give a more specialized perspective. Since other businesses and SEO experts will also get access to this, they’re also significant competition.
As a result, SEO professionals are now challenged to produce content that is much more specific and relatable to a very niche target market.
Less Focus on Keywords
MUM focuses on bringing users a holistic answer to their questions. With that in mind, it prioritizes content that will be helpful for users instead of targeting keywords that respond to search queries.
Because of this, there will likely be less dependence on keywords. But not to worry! At the end of the day, as long as your content is helpful to users, you’ll be fine.
Better Voice Search
Voice search is growing and growing each day. A report by eMarketer estimated that 135.6 million people in the U.S. were using voice search features in 2020. That’s a 2.7% increase from last year’s reports.
More and more people are also using AI tools like Alexa and Siri, which contributes to the steady increase in voice searches. This is slowly changing the way we search for what we need.
With Google MUM being another AI that helps us get better search results, joining this trend, we can expect a more user-focused experience moving forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Will there be any changes to Google MUM soon?
MUM is a fairly new update from Google. There are bound to be bugs here and there so we can expect it to be optimized more and more as time passes by. Google has human raters that follow their Search Quality Rater Guidelines to make MUM better for users.
2. Will keywords be totally useless because of MUM?
As of now, keywords are still valuable in connecting users’ queries and the content they need. We are yet to wait for updates on how MUM will affect keywords.
3. What does MUM stand for?
MUM stands for Multitask Unified Model. It’s the newest update from Google that helps users get a deeper and more insightful understanding of their search queries.
Looking Forward to What Google MUM Can Do
MUM is a really big step into a future that focuses on more intuitive user experience and deeper learning. It prioritizes giving information that answers queries and gives even more additional value other than what the users are asking for. This saves users time from having to search for every little detail of whatever topic they’re trying to learn.
This change is also going to greatly affect businesses and marketers on how they can produce high-quality content that will attract viewers. Creating content that values giving the users a holistic understanding of topics will be favored over prioritizing keywords.
