Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 19 December 2021: Most people come to Google Search either out of curiosity or necessity. The Year in Search lists is a great resource for anyone trying to understand what were the events, people, things, and questions that were on top of people’s minds over the past 12 months. 

Millions of Arabic speakers asked Search this year about a wide range of things. For us, it’s imperative that Google Search truly understands what you’re looking for, because a good answer ultimately depends on our understanding of the question being asked. Although Search is the first product of Google, it remains our greatest moonshot till this day as we continue to innovate not only in solutions for new challenges, but also innovate to make what we have built even better. 

This year we saw major improvements in our ability to better understand Arabic queries thanks to a new technology we announced in June called Multitask Unified Model, or MUM; a milestone in artificial intelligence which helps Google Search help you when the answer to your query is not very simple. One of the very first languages to have MUM applied to was our very own Arabic, helping millions of people find answers to their vaccine-related questions.  

For Year in Search, you will find that people have a variety of interests, all listed below. This year also saw breakout searches, which are queries that experienced the highest volume of searches within a limited time since 2011 (or trended the most). 

  1. In Saudi Arabia, the word “Zakat” trended at an all time high since 2011 around Ramadan this year as people searched for ways to give back to their communities.  
  2. In Egypt, the word “mangoes” trended more than ever this year after a heat wave destroyed some of the iconic fruit’s crops. 
  3. In the United Arab Emirates, people looked to the sky as the first Arab-led space mission made its way into orbit around planet Mars, pushing the word “mars” to the top of the trending charts. 

As for us, know that we’re constantly working on making sure Search helps you find the best possible answers to all your questions – whether they’re about an upcoming football match or your favorite movies, all the way to your research projects whether they’re academic or just curiosities.