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By Jessica Davies, News Editor

November 27, 2013 | 2 min read

Google has launched a voice-activated search feature to its Chrome browser meaning users can now search “hands free” via their PCs.

The internet giant revealed the update via a post on its social network Google+, informing users that they can search for anything via their computers without typing in keywords by saying the words “Ok Google”, followed by their question.

The post read: “It’s that time of year…the in-laws are coming for a tasty Turkey Day dinner. You’re elbow-deep in your turkey, ready to start the stuffing and you need to quickly calculate how many ounces of walnuts are in a cup.

“This year, rather than stopping midway through to wash your hands and type in a search, you can just speak to your laptop: “Ok Google, how many ounces are in one cup?” Et voila, the cooking can go on. You can also say “Ok Google, set a timer for 30 minutes” so you don’t forget to baste that turkey."

The move marks the latest step in Google’s ongoing strategy to provide more contextual, semantic search results, accelerated by the rise of mobile and voice search development.

It follows the launch of itsbiggest update to its SEO algorithm in three years – Hummingbird. The update, which was rolled out a month before it was formally announced, is designed to provide more accurate results when faced with natural prose questions from web searchers.