December 21, 2006 | Thursday

Ask.com testing new search interface in US

By Jon Myers, Director Of Search in Search Engines |Ask |Search Technology

Ask.com quietly began testing a new search interface this week in a bid to highlight its technology and take on titan Google anew.

Ask, a longtime background player in search that shed its “Jeeves” image this year, launched Askx.com--a simplified user interface for scouring Web sites, images, news and video. The company, owned by InterActiveCorp (IAC), described the site as a test bed for Ask’s future technology.

“In today’s version of Ask X, you’re not just getting back a list of links, but a slick, new three-panel interface,” according to the company. The left panel includes search suggestions, the middle panel displays Web listings and, at right, the page shows alternative results for video, shopping or encyclopedia links.

The test comes on the heels of Ask’s unveiling of a new local search site, AskCity.com, which features maps and city business listings. The launch also highlights the fact that the contest to dominate Web search is far from over, despite Google’s huge lead in the market--a more than 45 percent share compared with Ask’s roughly 5.9 percent, according to researcher ComScore.