Sources: UI features, 'search mashups' on tap for Kumo

The new search engine Microsoft is expected to launch this week boasts features to improve the relevance of search query results, partly by letting users set custom profile information the engine uses to tailor results, said sources familiar with the company's plans.

Microsoft is expected to reveal the next iteration of its Live Search product at the D: All Things Digital event, which opened Tuesday near San Diego, although the company has not confirmed the launch and will not comment on its future plans for Live Search. However, some analysts have been briefed under nondisclosure about the technology, and reports are widespread that it will be demonstrated there.

Sources, some of whom asked not to be named, said technology from Microsoft's acquisition of San Francisco startup Powerset will show up in the new search engine, widely rumored to be called Kumo. Microsoft has acknowledged internally testing a search engine called Kumo.

Microsoft is going to use semantic search technology from Powerset to query across information sources on the Web, said Stephen Arnold, a 30-year industry veteran and noted search analyst who has done extensive research about Google. People will be able to control those queries to refine them to their preferences, he said. "You're going to have the dials and knobs that let you tell it what you're interested in."

For example, a surfer who queries the word "wax" won't be looking for information on candles, he said, but may get that information if they search without preferences. By setting custom profile information, people can make the new search engine more intuitive to their interests, Arnold said, allowing them to create "search mashups" across various Web content sources.

As sources noted, Microsoft's search engine won't at first appear radically different from existing search technology. Rather, new features will be the first steps in a long road Microsoft will take to improve its market share against Google, they said.

Similar technology is available in both Google's search engine and a search engine from a company called Kosmix, said Arnold and other sources, including Google spokesman Nate Taylor.

For example, Google's Universal Search feature turns up results for queries across various content sources, he said, and Google also has recently added a "show options" feature to its search results page that allows people to see more varied as well as time-sensitive results for queries.

Arnold said that Microsoft may not roll out these custom features immediately in its search engine, but they are on tap as the technology evolves.

Sign up for ITworld's Daily newsletter
Follow ITworld on Twitter @IT_world

• Email
• Print
• Share
  • Slashdot
  • Digg
  • Stumble
  • Reddit
  • Newsvine