Sunnyvale, California — Google is being stalked! In an attempt to outsmart Internet search engine behemoth, Yahoo is rolling out a new search feature that surfaces answers and results as you type based on search suggestions. The beta version of a more intelligent and content-rich tool is dubbed as “Rich Search Assist.“
Ethan Batraski, Group Product Manager for Yahoo! Search, taunting at Google’s Instant Search aspect by referring to the new Yahoo! feature as “a technology that Yahoo! Pioneered”. “The new rich Yahoo Search Assist beta displays answers or directs links to them instantly as you type, and really pays attention to you as a user,” he said in a blog post. “It will give you an instant answer for many of your searches, or a helpful set of the top-clicked results for your topic, all within the Search Assist window.”
When a user types in a search term, Yahoo Search Assist will list all the predictions of what it thinks the user is looking for. Their goal is to make searching so easy you do not even have to enter the whole term; search for a partial question and suggested answers appear right in front of you.
Rich Search Assist goes beyond simply forecasting what you might type in and tries to predict the answers to the query you have not even finished yet. Type in “Green Bay” and the instant search box shows you scores, schedules, and other related things somebody searching for Green Bay might be looking for. Type in “McDonald’s Big Mac” and you will get nutrition information and restaurant locations — it is an instant search for answers, not just search suggestions. Yahoo said that these results are limited to information about sports players and teams, news, TV shows, and trending topics for now.
“Here at Yahoo!, we know that sometimes search is just about getting things done — fast. Whether you are searching for the latest game score, nutritional facts about that latte you ordered this morning, or your favorite TV show — you should be able to find answers with little to no effort,” Batraski, said.
The new Rich Search Assist replaces the existing Search Assistant. Previously, users would see related searches and suggestions. Now, along with the suggestions, they will get direct links and answers depending on the type of search.
Yahoo Search Assistant is similar to Google Instant, a predictive results tool that was launched earlier this fall. Google Instant, which also employs suggestions to load results before the user is finished typing but it loads the entire page rather than just some info in the Search Assistant.
“This new search enhancement will alter the way you consume information, making it an easy, enjoyable, and fast experience,” Batraski said.
Yahoo is only carrying out experiments on the new feature with about 5 percent of users for now, but will roll it out further eventually. There is no definitive version yet, so different users may get different variations of the feature until Yahoo settles on the best one.
Currently only available to a portion of their user base — similar to the way Google Instant was rolled out in waves — Rich Search Assist will become available to all Yahoo users in the coming months. For those who get to test the tool, there is an option to turn it off in the top right-hand corner of the search window.
Search-focused blog Search Engine Land captured the new service in the wild in the video below–if you are wondering why they did not properly screencast it, they were using a locked down corporate laptop and captured it how they could.