Google's New CAPTCHA Just Asks Whether You're a Robot

If you've ever signed up for an account or bought anything online, chances are you've had to fill out a CAPTCHA. It's that small box that asks you to type in a few words or a series of characters that have been distorted in an image (sometimes to a point you can't really tell what they are.) The idea is that machines can't read the letters and numbers, making this a good way to prove you are in fact not a robot.

It's a service provided by Google's reCAPTCHA. However, Google recently discovered that artificial intelligence robots could solve even the most difficult CAPTCHA thrown at them with a 99.8 percent accuracy. To combat that, Google implemented an Advanced Risk Analysis for CAPTCHA that determines how long you engage with a CAPTCHA to prove your human. Now, it's evolved that technology into something even better.

Unveiled today, the new "No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA" finds out whether you're a robot just by asking you. It uses an API that can confirm your human status with just a click instead of typing in numbers and letters. It's a lot simpler from a user perspective, and a whole lot more secure.

In instances where the API can't determine you're human on its own, you'll be kicked over to an old-school CAPTCHA to get the job done. There's also a new mobile-friendly version of CAPTCHA that has you select similar images rather than zooming in on some awkward lettering on a tiny screen.

Google is already trying out the new No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA with Snapchat, Wordpress, and Humble Bundle, and those sites are reporting positive results. On WordPress' site, for instance, more than 60 percent of its site traffic last week was able to get through with the new API and without needing to enter a traditional CAPTCHA. Humble Bundle was even better, with more than 80 percent of site traffic getting by with just the No CAPTCHA experience.

Expect to see more "I am not a robot" CAPTCHA boxes in your future.

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