Tangram, formerly called Tetris, is the Google system that decides which search features appear on a results page and where, using Glue and other signals. It is known only from Pandu Nayak's October 2023 trial testimony and 2025 remedies phase notes of a call with Google engineer HJ Kim; Google does not document it publicly and it is not visible in the leak. For sites, it means feature visibility is its own ranking decision, separate from blue link ranking.
What is Tangram?
Tangram is the Google system that puts search features, such as images, video, maps and panels, onto the results page alongside web results. In the 18 October 2023 trial session, Nayak corrected DOJ counsel, who suggested Glue adds search features: "It's the Tangram system that does that, which takes other inputs, other signals also." He confirmed: "Tangram used to be called Tetris, yes."
Asked whether it was called Tetris because it put the pieces together on the results page, Nayak answered only "Maybe."
It's the Tangram system that does that, which takes other inputs, other signals also.
Pandu Nayak, Google, Transcript of bench trial, Day 24 afternoon session, 18 October 2023, United States v. Google LLC
How does Tangram work?
The record gives inputs, not internals. Glue, the interaction log for non-web features, is "one of the signals" Tangram uses, per Nayak. The HJ Kim call notes (PXR0356, 18 February 2025) say different search features each "have their own ranking", that Kim started the project to create Tangram (the rest of that sentence is redacted), and that observing log data would reveal "when to show the features and when to not."
So the evidence supports two separate decisions: which web results rank, and which features appear and where. Tangram is described as owning the second.
Tangram/Tetris is another algorithm that was difficult to figure out how to do well but would be easy to reverse engineer if Google were required to disclose its click/query data.
Notes of call with HJ Kim, PXR0356, notes of 18 February 2025 call with Google engineer HJ Kim, US Department of Justice
What evidence is there that Google uses Tangram?
The label is Trial or leak evidence, specifically DOJ trial testimony and a remedies phase exhibit. Two Google witnesses are on record: Nayak under oath in October 2023 and Kim in the February 2025 call notes, which DOJ lists as exhibit PXR0356 on its remedies hearing exhibits page. The call notes are counsel's notes, not sworn testimony.
The leak does not help here: we found no model named Tangram or Tetris in the v0.4.0 API reference index. Judge Mehta's opinions do not name Tangram in the text we searched. Treat any detailed description of Tangram's scoring as speculation.
What does Tangram mean for your site?
If features are assembled by a separate system with its own ranking, then ranking first in web results does not guarantee visibility when the page is crowded with features, and a site can win a feature without winning the top link. The practical move is to read each target query's results page as a layout and ask which pieces the site is eligible to supply.
The falsifiable claim: for queries whose layout is dominated by a feature type (video, local pack, product listings, People also ask), sites with no eligible asset for that feature capture a smaller share of clicks than their web position predicts.
- Map each priority query to its feature layout.
- Supply the matching asset: video, local profile, product data or direct answers.
- Track feature presence, not only position.
Which Laurelin audit checks test for Tangram?
Tangram runs inside Google. The new check, page type does not match the feature layout of its target query, measures a proxy: whether the site offers what the assembled page makes room for.
Related checks: video without VideoObject schema blocks video features; no LocalBusiness markup for a local business and no Google Business Profile block local packs; product missing price, availability or currency limits shopping features; question heading with no direct answer limits answer features.
What is the timeline of evidence for Tangram?
The name entered the public record on 18 October 2023 in Nayak's cross-examination. The HJ Kim call notes dated 18 February 2025 add that Tangram would be easy to reverse engineer from click and query logs. Both relate to the antitrust case decided on liability in August 2024 and on remedies in September 2025.
What are the key dates for Google Tangram?
Frequently asked questions about Google Tangram
Is Tangram the same as Tetris?
Yes, according to Pandu Nayak's testimony: Tangram used to be called Tetris.
Does Glue decide which features appear?
Nayak testified that Glue is one signal and that Tangram is the system that adds search features, using other inputs as well.
Is Tangram in the 2024 leak?
We found no model with Tangram or Tetris in its name in the leaked API reference index.