SAN FRANCISCO — The Internet just got a lot faster —
at least following a Google search. And offices across America probably
will get just a bit louder.
Leveraging its prowess in computer science, Google
launched an array of new mobile and desktop search features Tuesday,
including the ability to speak a search query to a desktop computer, the
ability to run a search query on any personal photo stored on a user’s
computer, and a new interface for mobile searches that makes it easier
to find information about nearby restaurants, coffee shops and other
businesses.
But the new service that users will probably notice
most is something Google calls Instant Pages, a service in which Google
will start to load the Web page behind the scenes which the search
engine predicts a user is mostly likely to choose among their search
results. That means when a user clicks on the link Google predicts,
typically the first link in their search results, the page will
essentially load instantaneously. Google says that will save users three
to five seconds on average on every page view from a search.
Google’s goal, its top search scientists said Tuesday
at a press event at the Yerba Buena Center of the Arts in San
Francisco, is to make loading an Internet page feel as instantaneous as
flipping a TV channel or turning the page of a magazine.
Google’s goal “is to get you the information you seek
in the blink of an eye,” said Google Fellow Amit Singhal, who is in
charge of Google search. “What we are finding is that as people save
more time, they are searching much more, which often has a positive
impact on our business.”
The Instant Pages feature will gradually become
available to users of Google’s Chrome Web browser in coming weeks, and
Google said Tuesday that it was opening access to the software code so
other browsers, such as Firefox and Internet Explorer, could also
incorporate that feature.
Some of the features announced Tuesday, such as the
mobile search interface for Android smartphones, are available
immediately, however. The voice search feature for desktop computers
will gradually become available over the coming week, as users begin see
a small microphone icon appear in the far right of their Google search
box. Clicking the icon will allow them to speak a query to their
desktop.
The slew of search technology advances unveiled
Tuesday are one reflection of the emphasis co-founder Larry Page is
placing on accelerating the pace of innovation, particularly in search,
since he became CEO in April.
“His view of search is much broader than just a query
and finding a page among billions of pages,” said Alan Eustace,
Google’s senior vice president of knowledge. Page “thinks Google should
be responsible for understanding how things are related, to go much
deeper into understanding concepts and how concepts are related. He
wants us to know more.”
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