Making Smart Search Smarter

Back in October, we rolled out Smart Search powered by Bing in Windows 8.1. It offers a new way to experience search. Built specifically for touch, Smart Search allows you to swipe or type from the start screen to find what you need – whether it’s a document on your PC, a photo album in the cloud, your favorite app, or a website. This week we’re rolling out a series of improvements that allow you to find what you’re looking for and take action even faster.

Let’s take a look.

Search More Naturally

Have you ever tried to get something done on your device but you weren’t exactly sure what you were looking for? For instance, how do I take a screenshot or how do set-up a printer? Based on the most common tasks people perform on Windows 8, we are taking steps to allow Smart Search to showcase results based on natural language understanding. Now when I search for “install a printer”, Smart Search will show me that the function resides within “Device Settings” so I can take action with a simple click.

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Or say I’m unclear on where to go to find new apps for my new Windows 8 device. By simply typing, “get apps for windows”, Smart Search showcases the Windows Store.

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My screen is too bright.

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I want to delete an app.

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In addition, we have done additional work to improve common spelling mistakes in the Smart Search bar and to showcase more apps that might be relevant to your search. To get these updates, please make sure you have updated to the latest release of Windows 8.

One of the most exciting things about this feature is that it demonstrates how the Bing platform makes our Windows product more useful and helpful without having to update the Windows client software. Just like our speech work in Xbox or our constantly improving Cortana functionality, the power of Bing as a platform means products you use every day simply get more personal, helpful and intelligent every day.

This is another step in making Smart Search smarter. Give it a try and let us know what you think on Twitter (@Bing.)

– The Bing Relevance Team