YAHOO! LAUNCHES SEARCH DIRECT TO COMPETE WITH GOOGLE INSTANT SEARCH

Yahoo! has launched a new product called Search Direct. f you’re familiar with Google Instant, you pretty much will get the hang of Search Direct. When you start to type a query into Yahoo! Search, the site will start showing your results with each new character you enter. You can usually find what you’re looking for before you finish typing out your whole query and press enter.

It’s now live at search.yahoo.com, but is not yet on the main Yahoo! page. Yahoo! said at a press conference today that it’s looking to help match users with “answers, not links,” as Google Instant does. According to TechCrunch, Yahoo! SVP of Search Products Shashi Seth said they’re very different products. He said the next generation of search, whether it’s on web or mobile, will be more answer-driven, and less searching for links. Though it has the same idea as Google Instant, Search Direct is indeed a little different.

When you start typing, a small rectangular widget pops down from the search bar to show you results if they’re available. For example, searching for a city will give you weather widgets and nearby sports team schedules. Shashi said the results are generated by a completely different infrastructure from its normal search servers. Yahoo! is boasting its rich, contextual results in this new search.

Yahoo! will be allowing advertisers to embed images or videos in the right-panel to monetize the new feature. This isn’t in effect yet, but it will eventually be, and Yahoo! is excited to make it available on the iPad.