Google will soon display prewritten texts people in crisis can use to ask for help

Google will soon display prewritten texts people in crisis can use to ask for help

Illustration: The Verge

Google will soon start displaying prewritten text messages that appear when users search for suicide-related terms. These prompts are supposed to help people start a difficult conversation during a mental health crisis and were created in partnership with the International Association for Suicide Prevention.

The message options will appear directly beneath the information for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which Google already surfaces when people search for suicide-related terms. It will encourage users to “connect with people you trust,” with each prompt featuring a “send a text” button that opens and pastes the prompt into a user’s text messaging app. It’s not clear whether these messages will appear on Google’s desktop site, but…

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