Apture adds search popups to websites to add contextual info without leaving the page

Nov 11, 2011 13:12 GMT  ·  By

Google is on an acquisition roll, the latest addition to its rooster is Apture, a company which creates a browser plugin designed to enhance the web by providing additional info for any highlighted word on any page.

Apture also creates a white-label service for websites which enables them to add overlay popups that show up whenever someone highlights a word or a phrase.

However, both the browser add-ons and the white label service are dead now that the team is joining Google. There they'll work on Google Chrome, though no clear plans have been revealed.

"Since 2007, all of us here at Apture have worked hard to add new dimensions to the web," the team wrote in its announcement.

"We've always believed that by transforming flat web pages into interactive multimedia experiences, we could enable readers to see, hear and truly experience the ideas on the page," it said.

Currently, Apture technology can be found on plenty of websites. The idea is to keep people on the page longer by giving them what they want there rather than having them search for more info in another tab.

"We've been acquired by Google and will be joining the  Chrome team to continue driving innovation and creating a better user experience on the web. The modern web is an amazing platform, so stay tuned for even more enhancements to your Chrome browsing experience," Apture explained.

The plan is to apply the technology and the team's experience to enhance Google Chrome. At the moment, right-clicking on anything select in a page in Google Chrome provides users with the option of searching for the piece of text.

The search engine used is the default one, which means Google in most cases. But Apture technology could go well beyond that and give users access to a Google search, YouTube videos, Wikipedia entries, all from the page you're currently visiting and via the browser.