The intention is to compress the loop of entering queries, scanning the search results, refining the query, and checking the new results, a process that may be repeated multiple times and sometimes leads to frustration. The feature is undeniably a computer engineering tour-de-force, but it remains to be see how it will be accepted by end users and what impact it will have on ad performance and efficiency, as well as on the visibility of organic search results.
Developing such a groundbreaking and bold feature shows that, at Google, the search business remains king, even when the company plays in a broad range of world wide markets."Google is clearly doubling down on its heritage: search, which it does really, really well," said analyst Charlene Li of Altimeter Group.
According to Google, Instant isn't "search as you type" but rather "search before you type" because the engine is anticipating and predicting the most likely query the user intends to key in. As Google rolls out the feature, sophissticated users are more likely to embrace it than are ordinary ones, as the former understand the convenience and time savings while the latter may teel disconcerted, at least initially. "It's an improvement, and representsgreater efficiency and convenience for people who are accustomed to using search," said analyst Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intilligence. "But there is this blinking-light effect, with the character entry, that may be bit disorientingto more ordinary users."
"While many of the familiar [search] elements are still in place, the speed and streaming aspects of Google's undestanding of the user query and presentation of the results will be revolutionary," Reynolds said. "The traditional Google search model was incredibly wasteful of users' time ... Instant will helpshow what the right links are more quickly," he said
Reynolds sees big potential in speeding up the precess of refining queries, which he calls the "pogo stick" problem "Google Instant will help show what the right links are more quickly," he said vie e-mail. "Google Instant will take some getting used to. But I think most users will adjust to the changes and come to like Google's tighterning up of the search experience and all the guidance that will be presented to them.