By Dr. Eric Glover, Searchme’s Classification Architect. Eric is responsible for the design and implementation of Searchme’s categories feature, a seemingly simple tool that springs from an exciting area of artificial intelligence (AI) research and development.

Henry Ford once said: “If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse.” In thinking about search right now, most of us wouldn’t compare our favorite search engine to a horse. But in reality, somebody like Henry Ford has already decided for us how search will be, what results we will see, and how they will be presented.

A lot of people say, “Who gives a crap? I’m happy with how search works. Why do we need to change it?”

Here’s why: Just like those horse owners, we are so used to what we know that we don’t think about the fact that things could be even better. And, just because we aren’t screaming for a better search engine doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t use one when it showed up.

Before we start thinking about what search could be, though, let’s look at why search is currently the way it is.

The main reason is that most search engines see users as a number, not as individuals. Most search engines assume that: 1.) There’s a perfect set of results out there for every query; and 2.) What’s perfect for one user will be perfect for everyone.

To come up with this “perfect” set of results and corresponding ranking, search companies pick a bunch of pre-defined queries and then pay people to judge the relevance of their results and maybe the relevance to other engines. The problem with this is that we all know there’s no “perfect” set of results. It varies with each user, as does the best ranking of results.

So how do search companies currently deal with the fact that there’s no one perfect set of results?

Next – Part Three: How Search Works Right Now, Cont’d.

By Dr. Eric Glover, Searchme’s Classification Architect. Eric is responsible for the design and implementation of Searchme’s categories feature, a seemingly simple tool that springs from an exciting area of artificial intelligence (AI) research and development.

Imagine the Internet five years from now: As you begin to type a word into a search engine, it seems to know you personally. It naturally gravitates towards your unique interests and preferences. Rarely do you need to type more than one or two words before it shows you exactly what you’re looking for. On the occasional instance when it doesn’t correctly guess your intention, it’s easy to correct and quickly get to what you want.

For example, a student doing research for a school science project sees only science web sites that are appropriate for someone his age. A few hours later, he searches for information on his favorite video game, and he’s able to easily re-focus the engine on reviews and downloadable expansion packs.

By no means am I the first to postulate this future vision where your search engine seems to know you personally. But despite nearly ten years of artificial intelligence (AI) research in this area, we’re still not there. Why?

How do we get from here – a world where most people view search engines as big bookmark replacements – to there – a world where search engines are even more useful for real research and seem to know us personally, demonstrating the flexibility we all dream about? Are we moving in the right direction? Is it possible? Does anyone even care?

At Searchme, we are working to move toward this future and prove that it is possible by demonstrating some of the initial steps to get there. It’s extremely challenging, rewarding and exciting. Over the next few posts, I will go into detail on the real challenges to creating better search, what has already been done, and how we are starting to move into this future.

Next – Part Two: How Search Works Right Now