Google is building an internet speed test tool into search results

If you’ve ever tested your internet speeds, you’ve probably used Ookla’s Speed Test or maybe even Netflix’s new Fast.com. There’s also a good chance that you’ve simply Google searched “speed test” to get you to one of those websites. In hopes to court users away from Ookla and Netflix, it looks like Google is building its own internet speed test tool right into search results.

First uncovered by Dr. Pete Meyers on Twitter, the speed test function can simply be activated by searching “check internet speed.” As you can see in the screenshot below, the test takes less than 30 seconds and is powered by Measurement Lab (M-Lab).

As of this moment we’re still not sure what the test looks like or how accurate it is. You can try the query for yourself, but it doesn’t appear to be live for most users. In the mean time, you can, however, try out M-Lab’s NDT test for yourself if you’re interested. M-Lab’s testing tool hasn’t been very accurate for me, though, at least not as accurate as Ookla or Netflix’s offerings.

We’re not sure when – or if – Google actually plans to roll this tool out for everyone, so stay tuned for the details as we learn more.