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September 14, 2005

Instant Search Gives You Instant Answers

If search engines are so smart, why do they give you millions of results when you type in "boston weather"? Why even ten, for that matter? Why not just one? Or better yet, why not just tell me what the weather is?

There are some very good reasons why search engines don't normally return just a single result. Sometimes you really do want to see results from multiple sources in order to get to the answer you�re looking for. Also, different words can have different meanings, any of which could imply a different intent on the part of the searcher and therefore warrant different kinds of results.

But sometimes there is one really good answer to your search. And that�s what led us to develop Instant Search, which went into beta today on our next.yahoo.com site. As you type your search into the Instant Search box, it checks to see if there is a single, relevant answer for your query. If there is, that single result instantly appears on the page, just below the search box in a kind of "speech bubble". You don't even have to hit the Search button or the Enter key, and you don't have to sort through pages of results (though of course that option is still available to you).

Although interactive "Ajax" Web applications like this one are gaining in notoriety, they�re still far from mainstream. Instant Search represents an experience that�s different from what most of us expect from a search engine, so it takes a little getting used to. But once you start using it, it's hard to stop. For example, in the past I would typically hit Enter as soon as I finished typing in my search, but after using Instant Search I now find myself pausing to look for the "bubble". And when I use other search boxes and an instant result doesn't appear, I feel strangely disappointed. I want my bubble! (Fortunately, you can add Instant Search to the Yahoo! Search homepage found at search.yahoo.com. That way, it�s always at your fingertips.)

The best way to really understand Instant Search is to try it yourself. You can go there now and try some of these examples:

  • south beach diet (this one gives you three interesting results as you type)
  • 701 1st ave sunnyvale (Yahoo!'s address; try your own address too!)
  • san francisco giants scores (should be interesting to watch now that Barry's back)
  • time in copenhagen (in case you�re planning a trip)
  • katrina (Yahoo! News results are appearing because the hurricane is a top story right now)
  • ninjas (do you want real ultimate power? I�m not sure I do...)
  • convert 100 dollars to euros

Instant Search is still under development, so you can expect to see a few surprises along the way and some cool enhancements in the future, as well as answers to even more searches. But we wanted to share it with you as soon as we could and get your feedback.

http://instant.search.yahoo.com

What do you think?

Stephen Hood
Product Manager, Instant Search

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Comments

'Object Expected on line 121'. Uh-oh. That can't be good.

Posted by: Andrew | September 14, 2005 11:32 PM

I tried it in Mozilla and IE. Both of them report about an error in JavaScript.

Posted by: DEkart | September 15, 2005 12:14 AM

Works fine for me. IE 6.0 and Firefox 0.8.

Posted by: George Washington | September 15, 2005 12:26 AM

"Why feel lucky when you can be right?" Classic!

I know it's new, but seems kinda slow. Am looking forward to seeing a broader range of queries supported.

Posted by: Lee Odden | September 15, 2005 02:21 AM

Works fine in Safari v1.3.1 on Mac OS X 1.3. Excellent work! :-)

Posted by: James Pole | September 15, 2005 02:41 AM

There was a bug fix really late last night that should have caught that, Andrew.

Posted by: Jeremy Zawodny | September 15, 2005 08:27 AM

Woha, it really works, and it is fantabulous. Works in Opera, I wonder how it can not work in IE and Firefox, Yahoo tests its pages in them at least.

Posted by: An | September 15, 2005 10:01 AM

Out of all the things which Yahoo! has recenly released, this is absolutely the best and most innovative. Being an avid user of Y! Shortcuts, Instant Search brings search closer to being an end rather than a means to an end.

Now if you guys could do AJAX on a mobile device... Hmm, Minimo on a Linux phone...

Great job!

NC

Posted by: cn | September 15, 2005 01:54 PM

Brilliant. Works perfectly on Firefox on XP SP2. Possible Google-killer? ;)

Posted by: Ken L. | September 15, 2005 03:44 PM

Interesting , but isn't it similar to http://www.deepy.com as you type spell checker?

Thanks

Faisal

Posted by: Faisal | September 15, 2005 04:05 PM

This is quite good :-)
- of course, it has to be tweaked - but an analogy could be made to the
"I Feel Lucky" button option in Google Search - except of course, you are don't have to CLICK to get a hint of what is at #1 -
( the Maps sites take precedent over the SERPs (with a few NEWS related exceptions )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One suggestion would be to give to surfers a customizable option of how many "suggestions" they would like to appear - for e.g. some may want 10 (in columns of 5 apiece)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is an innovative use of AJAX - it will interesting to watch how this progamming grows and evolves.

Please offer new innovations in AltaVista and AllTheWeb - they too must also be embraced

Posted by: Search Engines Web | September 15, 2005 04:22 PM

Works great even on a modem. Great job!

Posted by: William Hood | September 15, 2005 05:03 PM

Definetly not a google killer (not even close).

The results (or is it just one result :P) displayed in a bubble (why in a bubble???) will not help unless the query is related to a map location or something very very specific. (which does not happen quite often)

Personally I feel google suggest helps me more to decide what I want rather than Yahoo Instant Search. It worked fine even in the Beta stage.

"Why feel lucky when you can be right?"

I think the statement proves that this concept was copied from google rather than a new idea. Can somebody explain to me more clearly what that statement means or in what context it is being used in the main page of Yahoo Instant search. Yahoo Instant search aint worth this statement...

I am glad to hear Yahoo has started to use Ajax more effectively. I just hope they use simple pages rather than pack too much stuff in a very little space. This is the main reason why I like google. Everything is simple and fast and accurate with google.

Posted by: sawai | September 15, 2005 10:13 PM

I dont think Google Suggest can be compared to this product. Suggest is a hi-fi query auto-complete and tells me what query I should be punching in.

Instant Search on the other hand is more like Google's "I am feeling lucky" (nowadays I really have to be lucky!!!) Instant Search isn't blind search and it also lets me decide whether the result I get is what I am looking for before I navigate to it.

Definitely not copied.. in fact quite impressed with the originality of the idea. The statement "Why feel lucky when you can be right?" is the Instant Search "punch" line.

There will always be people who go "whine whine" at whatever Yahoo does.

Keep rolling 'em Yahoo!

Posted by: Jatin | September 15, 2005 11:49 PM

report a bug in IE 6.0 and it does not really change its result when i continue typing. need some more work

Posted by: Anonymous | September 16, 2005 01:49 AM

To: sawai

You've got to be really confused about what you want to search, if you find google suggest of any importance. It is a fun thing, but that is about it. If I want to search for Katrina, if I used google suggest the first suggestion is Katrina Kaif?!! I typed Katrina and clicked the image button, google suggest completed the Kaif part itself - irritating. If I type Katrina in Yahoo search, it is entirely different, and a whole lot more useful, the best part is it works from Yahoo search and I do not need visit http://instant.search.yahoo.com/.

Obviously you are here for Yahoo bashing. Why not try this, Type Hurricane Katrina in google image search, compare results with yahoo image search (read about this at some website.)

Posted by: An | September 16, 2005 08:35 AM

Oh I forgot to add, Definite google killer :-)

I wish it worked at every every yahoo site (including the search box in yahoo mail for example) and not just at http://search.yahoo.com/ because instant search has the potential of stopping my toolbar addiction. Lot of people do not visit a website to search. My homepage is http://my.yahoo.com/ make it work there (even while instant search is in beta). Make it work in Firefox as an extension.

Posted by: An | September 16, 2005 08:51 AM

Brilliant... love it. This round goes to Yahoo Search.

Posted by: jkl | September 16, 2005 07:12 PM

1]I can see this service eating into Yahoo's profits, as it bypasses normal search results, and so nulls the ppc results.
2] It is also extremely unfair, as if you do a search for a word, the closest URL of that word, shows up in the result, whereas the fact is, that many URL's don't have a name that relates to the subject matter.
3] Additionally, it prevents other websites from getting in the spotlight, by choosing a single URL for the word that is entered, and other URL's with similar types of content get left out completely.
4] Overall, a gross negligence of providing choice, and fair competition, is the impression one gets from this searchware.
5] Yahoo should consider the businesses that support it, aswell as the public who do searches.

Finally,the resources in producing this, could have been put to much better use, elsewhere.

Posted by: Paul | September 18, 2005 02:33 PM

Wow, I love the google-like look-and-feel, almost as much as I love google!

Posted by: kc | September 18, 2005 06:14 PM

One of the best usage patterns for it is 'Instant Calculator'. That's awesome. Really, I can refine my expression and get instant feedback WITHOUT ever pressing Enter.

Posted by: Alex Kapranoff | September 19, 2005 04:59 AM

Fabulous. Works like a dream across browsers. Would be even better if you can expand the list of searchable keywords.

Posted by: Vijay Krishna | September 19, 2005 11:29 PM

1]I can see this service improving Yahoo's profits, as it attracts more people to use Yahoo.
2] It is also intelligent, as if you do a search for a word, it comes up with websites that have related content (even while it is in Beta.)
3] Additionally, you can still press return or clink on search to see other results.
4] Overall, an excellent addition to yahoo's already better search results.
5] Yahoo should continue giving better services to the users that support it.

Finally, thanks for putting resources in producing this.

PS: sorry Paul, if your website is not in the bubble, but as a user I am enjoying it.

Posted by: ay | September 20, 2005 11:45 AM

Thankfully, we all have our own personal opinions, and thats what makes the world go round ! Lets hope Yahoo's world also goes round at the same pace as the rest of them. Lets face it,their PPC system, Overture, sucks, thats when it decides it wants to work !

Posted by: Paul | September 20, 2005 01:18 PM

Well said. I totally agree with you. The point you are making here does make sense. And all those who oppose your views actually lack the basic essence of the subject. You must keep doing the good work.
http://www.tatar.us

Posted by: Tedd | September 23, 2005 09:30 PM