Yahoo! Upgrades! Search!

By Greg McNevin

October 4, 2007: In a bid to close the gap with Google and leave Microsoft Live in the dust, Yahoo! has announced a significant upgrade to its search capabilities.

The most significant improvement comes in the form of an assistant that “senses” when a user needs search help and opens a drop down menu of suggestions and related concepts. Called Search Assist, Yahoo! says the feature goes beyond basic search "suggestions" and provides real-time query suggestions.

The company claims that this will help the right information be found on a single search rather than the three or four 84 percent of online adults are using according to research conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Yahoo!.

The new Yahoo! Search is focused on getting consumers the most relevant information as well as providing the best user experience. We know that consumers want a complete answer, not a bunch of links, and the changes we've made are focused on getting people to the best answer -- whether it be a Web link, photo, video or music clip -- in one search," said Vish Makhijani, general manager and senior vice president of Yahoo! Search.

Next to Search Assist, the company has also announced other upgrades in the form of multimedia integration including video, audio and photos. These are anchored directly into the search results, enabling links, photos or videos to be located from the same page.

The upgrade has been applied to the search engine’s US site already, with the UK to follow in the near future. It is currently unknown when other regional centres will receive the new functionality.

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