Why Google Shows You Different Results Than Your Coworker for the Same Query

Two people typing the same words into Google can get noticeably different results, even sitting next to each other. Usually it isn't one big reason but several small ones adding up.

The main reasons

• Your search history. If you're signed in with search history on, Google can lean toward sites and topics you've clicked before. Someone who always reads one news site may see it higher.
• Location. Google uses your IP address and, if allowed, your device's location. Even in the same office, one person on a VPN or a phone's mobile data can be "somewhere else" to Google.
• Language and region settings. Different interface languages or results regions in Google's settings change what's shown.
• Device. Phone results differ from desktop results in layout and sometimes in order.
• Timing. Results for news and trending topics change by the minute.
• Google's experiments. Google constantly tests changes on small groups of users, so you may be seeing a test layout your coworker isn't.
• Different data centers. Google serves results from many locations, and they aren't always perfectly in sync.

Ads and special boxes differ too

Ads are targeted by your profile and location, so they vary even more than regular results. AI Overviews, shopping boxes and "People also ask" can appear for one person and not the other.

How to see a less personalized version

• Use an Incognito window, which signs you out. Location and language still apply.
• Click Try without personalization at the bottom of the results, where Google offers it.
• Turn off personalized results in Google's search settings. See how to opt out of Google search personalization.

Checking where a website really ranks

If you're comparing because you want to know where a site ranks, your own search isn't reliable, for all the reasons above. Use Google Search Console for your own site, which reports average positions across everyone who searched, or a rank tracking tool that checks from a neutral location.

Making your own results more useful

Personalization aside, you can control a lot of what's on the page: filters, operators like -site:, and extensions such as Search Cleaner, which hides sections like AI Overviews and People Also Ask. See how to customize your Google results.