Google launches customisable search tool

21 Nov 2008

The science of search has gotten a whole lot more interesting now that Google has given users the ability to customise and order their search results with its new SearchWiki tool.

The new SearchWiki tool allows users to customise search by re-ranking, deleting or adding to and commenting on search results.

The modifications will then be shown to the user every time they do the same search in the future.

SearchWiki will be available to signed-in Google users, and the changes are stored in the users’ Google account.

The tool will also allow users to share their insights on search with other searchers.

“This new feature is an example of how search is becoming increasingly dynamic, giving people tools that make search even more useful to them in their daily lives,” product manager Cedric Dupont said in a post on the official Google blog.

“We have been testing bits and pieces of SearchWiki for some time through live experiments, and we incorporated much of our learning into this release. We are constantly striving to improve our users’ search experience, and this is yet another step along the way,” Dupont said.

By John Kennedy

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com