There are two main differences between Y!Q and regular web searches:
- Y!Q lets you search from any web page you’re on so you don’t have to interrupt your workflow to find more information. Traditional web searches force you to go to a specific search page and type in a query.
- A regular web search only uses your search term or “query” to find what you’re looking for. Y!Q uses both your query and information you highlight on a webpage to determine the “context” of your search. Using this “context,” Y!Q provides exactly the type of information you’re looking for. A traditional search does not utilize context and isn’t a contextual search.
In addition, because Y!Q is a contextual search, it typically returns more relevant results for short queries, compared to regular web searches. For instance, if you were to type in the query “apple” in a regular web search box, you would probably see results about the computer company, the fruit, and possibly other references. However, if you were already on a web page about computers and then highlighted some text on that webpage and typed the same “apple” query using Y!Q, you’d see results that were specific only to Apple computers. Y!Q thus distinguishes what you want based on the context you select in the page you’re on.
