Google today announced a preview of AMP stories, a new tool for creators to bring content to the mobile web in a new and engaging way. AMP stories were inspired by the likes of Snapchat and Instagram, which both offer people the ability to tell on-going, ephemeral stories that others swipe through. AMP stories will work in similar fashion, but on the mobile web. AMP stories are built in the backbone of Google's existing AMP project, which gives them speed and reach. Publishers post an AMP story on their web page and link to it to help with discovery. Google says publishers can take advantage of existing tools, such as pre-rendering pages, caching, and optimizing for video so the end user experience is smooth. Google created preset templates with standard UI controls that it believes will work for most AMP stories, at least for now. Some publishers, including CNN, Conde Nast, Hearst, Mashable, Meredith, Mic, Vox Media, and The Washington Post, were given early access to put AMP stories to the test. Google says AMP stories are available for everyone to try on their web sites, and the story format is free and open to use. Publishers can find what they need from Google's developer web site. For end users, Google says people can find AMP content by opening their mobile browser and searching for "g.co/ampstories" along with one of the content creators listed above.


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