In at least three cases, the company is bringing in technology from third-party vendors to improve on the relevance on Google Inc’s search results, which should be a cause for concern at the search giant.
AOL said it has added technology from Vivisimo Inc, a Pittsburgh-based start-up that makes software for clustering together search results based on common concepts extracted from the documents.
AOL said the move, which it claims is the first deployment of such technology by a major search service, saves searchers wading through long lists of results. A new SmartBox feature guesses what the user may be searching for before the search button is clicked, allowing them to narrow down their results.
Entering eagles would present options for the Philadelphia Eagles American football team and the band The Eagles, as well as the birds, AOL gave as an example.
Taken together, the technologies resemble context and cluster-based search services previously launched by the likes of Teoma Inc, now a part of Ask Jeeves Inc.
AOL is also working with Fast Search & Transfer ASA, once a Google competitor, to enhance its localized search results. Google already offers localized search.
Finally, AOL has chosen Copernic Inc as its provider of desktop search software. Again, this could be perceived as a blow to Google, which has its own desktop search software.
For Google, which is broadly recognized to be gradually losing its once spot-on relevance, the move should prompt hard thought about how it can refine its service to avoid market share erosion.
