Google tests 'streaming' search engine

Results before you ask

By Cade Metz • Get more from this author

Posted in Media, 23rd August 2010 23:49 GMT

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Google is testing a new incarnation of its search engine that rejiggers results pages as you type, according to a video captured by a UK-based SEO.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But judging from the video, Google refers to this as "streaming" search. As you key new characters into the search box – or remove characters – the entire search results page changes accordingly. "You don't even need to hit the 'Search' button anymore," says the SEO, Rob Ousbey. "Google updates the results for you while you're typing."

You can see Ousbey's video here:

Basically, Google is taking its "Suggest" tool a step further. Rather than just suggesting possible searches as you type, it's suggesting entire results pages. This is yet another way that Google is trying to give you information before you ask for it. "I actually think most people don't want Google to answer their questions," CEO Eric Schmidt recently told The Wall Street Journal. "They want Google to tell them what they should be doing next."

But again, "streaming" search is – at this point – only a test. "At any given time we are running between 50-200 search experiments," a company spokesman told TechCrunch. ®