Sizing Up Search Engine Instant Answers

The major search services have all be increasing their efforts to deliver focused “answers” to many types of queries. They each take a different approach to this process, with names such as Ask’s Smart Answers, Yahoo’s Shortcuts, Google’s Onebox results and Microsoft’s Instant Answers. In today’s SearchDay article, A Closer Look at Ask’s Smart Answers, SEW correspondent Brian A. Smith kicks off a four-part series that takes an in-depth look at each of these programs, illustrating the unique approaches offered by the major search engines.