Google Is Testing a 'Search as You Type' Feature

Google is experimenting with what could be a major new feature for the search engine. Search results are being updated as the query is typed without pressing Enter or hitting Search. Any modification to the query is reflected in updated search results.

The new feature has been spotted in the wild by some people, but it's safe to say that it is in testing with very few people, understandable for such a radical change.

It's unknown for how long Google has been testing the new feature or if it will be rolled out to more people soon.

Google Suggest has been around for quite a while. The feature suggests queries based on what you're already typing in the search box. If you change your mind and modify the query, the suggestions are updated.

The feature has proved quite popular and useful, and comes in handy especially when you're not sure about someone's name or what a song is called and so on. It also makes it easy to search for longer terms, just select the suggested query rather than typing all the way through.

The new experiment is the logical extension of that, but, rather than just update the suggestions, the search results are now displayed as the query is typed and before the search has been initiated.

This could prove extremely useful in practice and should save a lot of time for a lot of people. Seeing the results on the same page without having to load a new one makes it very easy to see what works and what doesn't and to see if a particular query surfaces the results you want.

If you don't find what you're looking for you can just modify the query and the search results will be updated in real-time.

This would be a major change for Google, and indeed for any search engine, so the company will probably run these experiments for some time enabling the engineers to adjust and change the feature according to the feedback.