Google has announced changes to its search algorithm to fight online piracy.

The search engine giant is preparing new efforts including new ad format testing and adjusting its autocomplete search feature to reduce the visibility of notorious piracy sites in search results.

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Among the changes Google revealed in its "How Google Fights Piracy" report is the addition of legit downloads suggestions placed at the top of search results.

When users search for content using keywords like "download," free or "watch," Google's search results will automatically provide legitimate content sources such as Amazon, Netflix or Google Play store while illegal content fall lower in results.

In 2012, the media giant announced it would track valid copyright removal notices that websites receive and use it to demote sites with large amounts of piracy and to limit repeat offenders from appearing in search results.

This year, Google released a statement saying it has refined the process and improved the use of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

According to the "How Google Fights Piracy" report, Google received over 224 million takedown requests last year under the DMCA. The search giant should "remove links to infringing sites from search results if requested by the rights holders. If the company doesn't, it could face legal liability."

Google said its latest global algorithm changes will begin to roll out this week and will "visibly affect" rankings of piracy sites.

Senior Copyright Policy Counsel Katherine Oyama said the new search results system has only rolled out in the US, but Google plans "to continue investing in this area and plan to expand internationally."

Tags piracy sites, site ranking, search engine update