Microsoft continues to play Google catch up in latest Live Search updates
Microsoft has announced that a number of enhancements and improvements are coming to its Live Search engine. The trouble is, most of them sound like things which Google has been doing pretty well for quite some time.
Features include important things like indexing four times the number of sites previously referenced, and using enhanced algorithms to better understand what their users are searching for.
Microsoft has also been working on handling queries with misspelled words and stop words, and even now handles the auto-correction of spelling mistakes in queries.
It has also better integrated its Answers platform into the results, to help users who are simply looking for specific pieces of information such as weather reports, sports scores, and so on. Additionally, it’s spent more time offering specialised content in the areas of entertainment, shopping, health, and local information.
The new features will be rolled out in the US in the coming week, and internationally by the end of October.
Live Search still trails well behind Google, as the third most popular search engine, with Yahoo in second place. Microsoft needs to do more if it’s to provide decent competition.
(Via Ars Technica)
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