Google has taken down its landmark Instant Search feature. Instant Search, which was first introduced in 2010, automatically populated search results as the user typed in a query. Introduced under the guidance of Marissa Mayer, the then vice-president of the company, the feature played a major role in changing how users obtained information on the Internet, while cutting back on the time it took to do so. Google had estimated that it would collectively help save millions of seconds per hour by surfacing results as fast as possible. Today, the intention behind killing the Instant Search feature is to make it more mobile device friendly.
The company observed that over half of the searches on Google are coming from mobiles these days. The number of searches coming from desktops is decreasing at a fast rate. Moreover, since fingers and virtual buttons are used while interacting with the software, Instant Search does not make much sense. In a statement given to a popular online tech magazine, a Google spokesperson explained the change.
“We launched Google Instant back in 2010 with the goal to provide users with the information they need as quickly as possible, even as they typed their searches on desktop devices. Since then, many more of our searches happen on mobile, with very different input and interaction and screen constraints. With this in mind, we have decided to remove Google Instant, so we can focus on ways to make search even faster and more fluid on all devices,” the spokesperson says.
Now, as the users type in a query, they will only see search suggestions and can click on those suggestions to see the results. The search will not load any result pages without clicking on a search suggestion or clicking enter.
