Ask Jeeves is expanding its “Smart Search” tools today with direct responses to queries about weather information and numerical conversions.
The direct responses to weather queries include information about local conditions, surf reports, and for travelers, flight delays. There are also over one hundred different numerical conversions that work using natural language queries.
This lets you get direct answers to questions such as “weather in Houston,” or conversions such as “dashes in a tablespoon.”
Ask Jeeves introduced Smart Answers last April, and I was impressed with the quality of the results for many types of queries. The features combine the search engines natural-language processing technology with links selected by Ask Jeeves’ editorial team for popular or topical subjects. Some of the other Smart Answers features include:
- Direct responses to searches for Zip Codes
- Country Maps
- Holidays
- Capitals
- Foreign Language Translation
- Numerical Values
- Acronyms and Abbreviations
- Driving Directions
- Popular Subjects (e.g. Who won the best actor Oscar in 1982?)
“Smart Answers support users everyday requirements, from finding driving directions, checking the weather and accessing zip codes, to looking up country maps” said Jim Lanzone, Vice President, Product Management, Ask Jeeves.