The first time I used Google Instant—Google's abrupt change to its full-blown search results page—I found it jarring, and that was before I'd even typed a second letter. The constant transition to complete results for all of my partial searches became less annoying the more I used Google Instant. Ultimately, I began to focus on the quality of my results as opposed to the machinations of the page.
Naturally, I wanted to compare Google's new Instant Search magic to Microsoft Bing's relatively old type-ahead keyword magic. Google Instant, for now, only works when you're signed in and may be using some search history to intuit results. It combines type ahead with live results, while Bing only offers you a list of probable word matches. Still, the word matches in Bing are pretty solid, and if Google Instant is showing you a page you weren't interested in anyway, then what's the value in it?
With Bing, I select the best word guess or type my full query and then hit Enter. With Google Instant, I no longer have to hit Enter. Poor, dismissed Enter key. I hope it realizes that I'll still be using it in countless other ways.
I did a couple of random tests just to see how well the two engines searched on some common or trending terms.
As Google made its Instant search announcement, CNN was busy making news of its own: Piers Morgan would replace Larry King on Larry King Live though I guess it'll now be called Piers Morgan Live. Since Piers is in the news, I decided to search for him on the two engines.
Typing "P" in Google Instant landed me a page of "Pandora" search results. "Pi," "Pie," and "Pier" all got me "Pier 1 Imports." Only "Piers" returned a page of "Piers Morgan" results. Oh, and I should stop saying "returned" since I'm no longer hitting the Enter key.
On Bing, "P" got me "pogo," "Pandora," and "people" to name a few, but no "Piers Morgan." When I typed "Pi," the first keyword suggestion was "Piers Morgan." So, at least in this very anecdotal test, instant results does not necessarily mean "instantly better results." Which brings me back to my original question: Why is it a good idea for Google to do this? Are we really so desperate to get back those few precious seconds—all those moments we waste hitting the "Enter" or "Return" key? I highly doubt it.
However, here is something else to consider. When you do see that instant search result, you will also, potentially, see sponsored links. Now, instead of those text-based ads being just one-click away, they're right there in front of you—as you type. That's certainly a splendid instant result for all of Google's advertising partners, isn't it?