Google has unveiled its new Instant search tool, which displays and continuously updates search results as you type.
Instant builds on the autocomplete system, but instead of just predicting what users are searching for as each letter is typed, it instantly serves up results, changing the entire listing with each letter entered — “providing results in real-time before you even have time to type your query,” said Marissa Meyer, Google’s vice president of search.
Google says it isn’t just faster, but helps users refine what they were looking for by seeing search recommendations immediately, instead of having to hit enter and retype terms if the required results don’t come back.
As searches are automatically returned, Google filters out inappropriate content, so users won’t be caught out typing a term that has a similar start to something offensive.
Currently the tool is limited to its own website, and only in some countries, but it will show up in search boxes in browsers within a few months, Google says, and on Google Mobile later this autumn.
“Typing on a phone is just slower, so feedback on mobile is even more useful,” said Othar Hansson, search engineering lead.
Google says its users spend an average of nine seconds typing in their queries and 15 seconds choosing from results. Between those, it takes 400 milliseconds for the search to get to Google, 300 milliseconds for it to be processed by the search giant’s servers, and another 400 milliseconds to return the result.
“We’ve spent a lot of time optimising the 300 milliseconds, really trying to make sure we have search as fast as possible while on our server,” said Meyer.
“Despite all that emphasis on optimising, a search takes 25 seconds, and all of that focus is all on one of those 25 seconds,” said Meyer. That leaves the input and results choices as the last place to make speed gains, with Google Instant saving two to five seconds per query, she said.
Nicole Kobie
