Microsoft is readying a new release of Bing that stays true to its core concept of reimagining what search can to do help consumers make decisions. It adds new technologies to make search more intuitive.
“The core of our work addresses the fact that the web is getting more complex and faceted — not less,” said Satya Nadella, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Online Services Division. “At the same time, your time is being compressed more than ever. But this ever-evolving web provides footholds on which Bing can build that can help cut through the noise.”
He said the evolution challenges search engines to more thoughtfully define search quality as more than just speed or how well links match a query. As Nadella sees it, quality search means a visually organized experience, a focus on tasks, a socially relevant experience, and device intelligence that shapes results.
“The bottom line is that search will continue to evolve at a rapid pace as consumers come to expect more solutions at the end of their online journey rather than just more questions,” Nadella said. “It’s an ongoing journey, to be sure.”
The Evolution of Bing
The Bing update aims to be more helpful, more social, more local, and more mobile. More social by expanding on its exclusive partnership with Facebook. The new Bing will show searchers which of their friends have “liked” search results to help them decide the best answer to their query.
On the local front, the new Bing will offer easier-to-read and faster maps and a focus on making the 40 percent of queries with local intent much easier. A Taxi Fare Calculator, Parking Lot Finder, and Twitter Maps all work to help people make decisions.
“Our Map Apps have been favorites of many users, and we’re exposing those apps more broadly by making them front and…