Google Instant comes to speed up web search

Unveiling new technology that it called “a fundamental shift” in Internet search, Google this morning demonstrated “Google Instant,” which streams results onto the screen even as users begin to type in a query.

The new technology means that users don’t need to hit “enter” or click on a “search” button to see the results from a search. Google Instant, which will launch later today in the United States for people using the latest versions of most Web browsers, will cut two to five seconds off searches that previously took about 25 seconds, the company said.

“We’re really trying to make sure we have search as fast and as efficient as possible,” Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president of search products and user experience, said in an announcement at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. “It’s really providing results in real time before you have the opportunity to type your query.”

Google has now passed more than 1 billion worldwide users each week, meaning the “Google Instant” technology will save 11 hours in collective search for every passing second, Mayer said.

“It means much faster search, easier search, and easier ways to explore” related queries, Mayer said.

“Google Instant” will become available later today for users on updated browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla’s Firefox, Apple’s Safari and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Version 8. The new service will role out in Britain and a number of other European countries over the rest of this week.
Source: Mercury News