Google has a suggestion on your search

Google expects to graduate a feature from its labs to its main search page in the next week to help users execute faster and more specific searches. The feature, called Google Suggest, automatically recommends options for the rest of your search term as you type based on the most popular searches.

Google Suggest aims to help you formulate better and faster searches by suggesting popular terms.

(Credit: Google.com)

Like many Google offerings, Google Suggest has been available for use for several years while in development. The feature, which mirrors services offered by Yahoo and the recently launched Cuil, was announced Monday on GoogleBlog:

The Google Suggest feature originally started as a 20% project in 2004, and has since expanded to Google Labs, Toolbar, Firefox search box, Maps and Web Search for select countries, the iPhone and BlackBerry, YouTube, and now Google.com.

Google touts the service, which is available here for a test drive, as being able to helping to formulate queries, reduce spelling errors, and saving users keystrokes.

[adafr]

Really? I don't think this is a new feature

[peternies]

ya. Google Suggest has been my home page for years... which is just how lame i am.

[Gundamdriver]

This "feature" has been enabled for years...

[Seanathome]

The only thing different then the one we've all been using is the little counter on the right side that says how many results each keyword has. :)

[n3td3v]

Firefox already has a drop down suggestion based on stuff you've already typed in the past.

[jshee42]

Ok folks. Please reread the article. This is from the section that was quoted off the google blog.

The Google Suggest feature originally started as a 20% project in 2004, and has since expanded to Google Labs, Toolbar, Firefox search box, Maps and Web Search for select countries, the iPhone and BlackBerry, YouTube, and now Google.com.

[raysme]

Interesting.....I wonder how this is going to affect a company's strategy to target specific keyword phrases.
I'm thinking that people will immediately go to one of the dropdown choices rather than think for themselves as to specifically what it is they are looking for, unless the phrase they are looking for is there.