Google ditches Instant, one of the search engine’s fastest features
Users who aren't sure what it is will definitely notice its absence
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Google has killed off Instant, one of its search engine’s quickest features.
When it launched back in 2010, it was hailed as "the future of search" and the company also described it as “search-before-you-type”.
Google said the main benefit it would offer users was saving them time.
Instant showed the results of predicted search terms before you’d hit the Enter key or even finished typing.
Suggestions will continue to appear under the search bar as you type, but now you actually need to select one of them or complete your query in order to see any results.
“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,” Google told Search Engine Land.
“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.”
When Instant launched, Marissa Mayer, who was then Google’s vice president of search products and user experience, said: “The user benefits of Google Instant are many — but the primary one is time saved. Our testing has shown that Google Instant saves the average searcher two to five seconds per search.
“That may not seem like a lot at first, but it adds up. With Google Instant, we estimate that we’ll save our users 11 hours with each passing second!”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments