According to Microsoft, the new Direct Answers feature of the search engine will deliver more than 1.4 million intelligent 'answers' from Microsoft Encarta, in-line with ordinary search results. MSN Search vice president Christopher Payne revealed that the feature is key to MSN's strategy to win over the Web-searching population, who may have become jaded by searches returning millions of hits of not-quite-relevant information.
Similar features do exist in other search engines such as Yahoo, Ask Jeeves and Google, but they typically focus on answers to questions about the weather, entertainment and package tracking. MSN believes that by linking its encyclopedia software into MSN Search, it will provide a more useful service. In addition to the Direct Answers function, MSN will make up to 35,000 unique articles from Encarta available free of charge.
The other new feature that distinguishes MSN Search is its Search Builder functionality which allows users to customise searches by emphasising or de-emphasising certain criteria such as a specific site, country or language.
Anyone familiar with Google will quickly find that further new features released in the new MSN appear on the surface to be distinctly similar to several of the features that have given Google its current popularity; with image search, news integration, local goods and services search and 'only from Australia' functions being added.
Users can also look forward to new desktop and music search features to be released later on in 2005, although a beta of the desktop search feature is currently available for download. The beta release follows the recent release of similar tools from both Yahoo and Google.
The new engine marks the beginning of a likely end for MSN's relationship with Yahoo. Yahoo's Inktomi search technology has powered MSN for more than three years, while its commercial subsidiary Overture Services has also provided targeted text ads for several years. MSN will continue to license Yahoo search technology for its Korean and Japanese sites until later this year. MSN's Payne would not comment on any plans to replace Overture, but their contract runs out in 2006. Also, MSN has made a greater push to sell sponsored listings itself.
In Australia, the new MSN Search is prominently displayed at the top of ninemsn, the nation's current number-one website. Ninemsn is a joint venture between Microsoft and PBL.
