Google Instant - launch of 'search as you type'

Today, Google announced the launch of 'Google Instant', which aims to predict what you're searching for and provide results for it.

Google Instant offers evolving search results that can potentially change with each character you type into the Google search box. Google says that by providing users with immediate feedback, they are able to refine their searches more quickly and find the results that more precisely match their needs.

Google aims to predict what you want by filling out the anticipated search term in grey as you type each character. Below that there will be a dropdown box offering other suggested queries.

The new interface applies to both search results and related ads. Therefore, Google say they expect increased user engagement with their search services, including ads.

Although Google Instant doesn't change the way ads are served, ads and search results will now be shown based on the "predicted search." For example, if someone types "flow" into Google.com, their algorithms predict that the user is searching for "flowers" (the predicted search) and therefore display both search results and ads for "flowers". However, if that user then adds the letter "c" to the query, their algorithms may predict that the user is searching for "flowchart" and show the corresponding natural and paid results for flowchart.

Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search and user experience said, "In 2000 we thought the idea of being able to search before you typed was so weird we made it our April Fools joke. Just 10 years later we're seeing that it's actually possible."
Matt Cutts, from Google, says: "The search results will remain the same for a query, but it's possible that people will learn to search differently over time. For example, I was recently researching a congressperson. With Google Instant, it was more visible to me that this congressperson had proposed an energy plan, so I refined my search to learn more, and quickly found myself reading a post on the congressperson's blog that had been on page 2 of the search results."

Starting from today, users with Chrome, Firefox, Safari and IE8 in the U.S. will begin seeing the new results. Google is also rolling out the service to users in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Russia so long as they are signed-in to a Google product. Users in the U.S. do not need to be signed in.

If you don't want to see results as you type, you can turn off Google Instant by clicking the link next to the search box on any search results page, or by visiting your 'Preferences' page. People who do so will then see Google's standard results.