Google Suggest
So, waddaya want?

Google has launched a new feature in Google Labs called Google Suggest. Now, Google can offer suggestions as you type, guessing at what you're looking for. As Google says:

By offering more refined searches up front, Google Suggest can make searching more convenient and efficient, because it eliminates the need to type the entire text of a query. In addition, the service can connect users with new query suggestions that are useful, intriguing, and fun.

Google Suggest is constructed similar "Did you mean?" spell checker technology, using PageRank weighted usages of words throughout the internet to come up with the most likely guesses for what you're looking for, as well as drawing data from the "aggregate popularity" of Google searches, like the Google Zeitgeist.

Using it is quite simple. Just start typing into the search box, and a drop down list of suggestions, complete with the number of results, shows it. It's on a slight delay, so searches will take you a bit longer. It's a great way to go exploring. If you're not sure what you're looking for, start with a subject and let Google suggest where to go. If you want to go back to the Google Suggest page, you'll need to hit the back button, since there's no link to Google Suggest from the search results page (alternatively, you can edit the URL box, erasing everything after "complete=1", and hit enter).

Even though Google Suggest is located at labs.google.com/suggest, when you click on it, you actually find yourself at http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en, which should mean that Google Suggest is a new option built directly into the Google search engine, and not just a different engine. Will Google allow Google Search API developers usage of this data in programs based on the API? I hope so.

Do you like Google Suggest? Well, if you have an opinion, you can suggest your suggestion about Google Suggest to the Google Suggest guys at the suggestion email address for Google Suggest: labs+suggest@google.com

One bug: Once you've typed something in the box, you can't select it. Anything you select is instantly deleted for some reason. Must have something to do with the way the Suggest box selects the suggestions.

- posted by Nathan Weinberg @ 12/10/2004 10:27:00 AM