Google turned the search world on its ear this week with the unveiling of Google Instant, a speedier search option that delivers dynamic results as a user types a search query.
Google Instant delivers searches in real-time, while also predicting the search results to users based on what they've typed into the search box so far. Google has taken to calling it "search-before-you-type" functionality.
Now that the Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant has rolled out the latest in search technology, here are five reasons Google Instant is an instant winner in the overcrowded search ecosystem.
1. It's all about instant gratification. Search engine users want their results and they want them now. While hitting the enter button after typing in a search query took only a fraction of a second, Google Instant is looking to change that. Search results appear dynamically, fluidly and, most importantly, instantly, as a user types, saving time and letting users tailor their search keywords on the fly of the optimum results don't appear immediately. Google estimated that searches can save two to five seconds per search, or an average of 11 hours per month.
2. Google Instant can see the future. Well, maybe it can't really see the future, but it can predict search results. Google Instant leverages what users have already typed in the search bar and predicts what is most likely to happen next. Those results stream in real-time for those predictions, making searches smarter and faster. And if you don't like it, Google said Google Instant can be turned off.
3. It gives Google an edge on the competition. Google Instant is a flashy new feature that gives Google a leg-up on its search competitors, namely the pairing between Microsoft Bing and Yahoo. In the war of search feature and function, Google earns the bragging rights with Google Instant, which some industry watchers predict will give Google's search market share a jolt.
4. Google Instant will be global. Google said Google Instant is now available in the U.S. for users of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer 8 browsers. It will soon be rolled out to the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Russia, Google said. And, in coming months, it will be available worldwide.
5. Google Instant will soon go mobile. While few additional details were available, Google said it does plan to make Google Instant available on mobile devices and smartphones later this year. Odds are it will first launch on the current crop of widely popular Google Android smartphones and spread out from there.
