Yahoo Test-Drives a New Search Technology

Juan Carlos Perez, IDG News Service

Yahoo has begun testing publicly a new search technology that can generate queries on the fly based on the content of the Web page a user is reading. The goal of the new technology is to make it easier and faster for users to find information than if they go through the conventional process of executing a keyword-based search engine query.

"Most people aren't skilled in the art of choosing exactly which keywords to use when searching," wrote Jeremy Zawodny, a Yahoo Search executive, in Yahoo Search's official blog to formally announce YQ. "The fundamental idea [behind YQ] was to supplement search queries with context."

Users can try out the new YQ service in several ways. It has been implemented in a test Yahoo News environment. Another option is to download a new Yahoo toolbar called DemoBar, which lets users trigger contextual searches on any Web page they're visiting. Finally, Web publishers can embed YQ tags into their Web pages.

In all cases, the YQ queries and subsequent results are based on an analysis of the Web content a user actively highlights or passively views. "YQ uses the context to help bridge the gap between query and intent," Zawodny wrote.

How It Works

In the Yahoo News implementation, headlines are accompanied by Search Related Info links, which trigger a YQ search. A small search-results box pops up on top of the Web page being viewed. Users have the option to click on one of those results, close the results box, or click on a link that leads to a separate page with a longer list of results. With the DemoBar, users highlight portions of the text of the Web page they're visiting and click on a button to trigger a YQ contextual query. Finally, Web publishers can tag content on their Web pages to permit users to run a YQ contextual query.

YQ supports Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser and the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox browser.

More information about YQ can be found on the company's dedicated page.