Over the weekend, Google announced the renaming of Google Suggest to “Google Autocomplete.” Google said that “‘Autocomplete’ fit better with the new [Google Instant] functionality — automatic queries and automatic results.”
Of course, there is another added benefit, as it distances the company from a somewhat tainted Google Suggest name.
Recently, Google and CEO Eric Schmidt were found guilty of defamation in Paris after Google Suggest suggested search terms including “rapist” and “satanist” when a query was done for one plaintiff’s name. Other legal issues around Suggest included a “scam” suggestion in Paris (found guilty), and lawsuit in Belgium (found not guilty).
In defending Google Suggest, Google explained that the function reflects the most common terms used in the past with words entered, so Google itself doesn’t make the suggestions.
As a tribute to the end of Suggest, enjoy “The 15 Greatest Google Autocomplete Fails,” courtesy of Search Engine People.