Live Search acquisition may improve search possibilities

Recently, Microsoft Live Search announced it was acquiring natural search engine Powerset. How the acquisition will effect both companies is yet to be seen but the implications are bright for both companies.

by Kristina Knight

Microsoft Live Search has been steadily in the third or fourth place for market share, behind Yahoo and Google, for years. The addition of Powerset’s natural search languages could enhance their profile for searchers because natural search brings additional queries to the table.

Last year, Powerset signed an exclusive agreement with Xerox which gave them the ability to utilize their natural language technology; this increased their platform’s power.

Natural search engines return search queries based on the language used in a query. Keyword search is still the top dog in the industry but there are some who say natural language search is actually a better platform because the results are contextually relevant to the query placed. In addition to returning queries based on how often a keyword appears in a piece of content, natural language search returns queries based on meaning. Powerset’s platform also allows users to scan and surf results as their tools from the original query follow users’ progress across the web.