Semantic search plug-in comes to Google, Yahoo, MSN

Semanti Corp. today has released its free semantic search browser plug-in that now works for Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft Live Search.

SemantiFind debuted in September at DEMOfall08 as a plug-in to add semantic searching to Google. The company promised an update within 30 days that would make that feature compatible with other search engines. Today, that update has been released. SemantiFind is now capable of working with Yahoo and Microsoft Live Search in addition to Google, and can be downloaded for free

Typically, searches are strictly keyword-based, and only the query terms are searched for, rather than their meaning. Semantic searches have long been viewed as the next step in the evolution of search engines, where they look for the meaning rather than the actual word. This evolution, however, has been slowed by the imperfection of machine-generated results. SemantiFind bolsters its Web ontology-based results through the browsing behavior of its users.

In a user's chosen search engine, results are returned in the typical fashion, except Semantifind-provided results are presented in their own box atop the regular ones, not unlike the cross-platform plug-in by SurfCanyon. Once a user finds her desired information, the plug-in "Semantifies" the most relevant results, prioritizing the more accurate links for other users who search for the same terms.

The emphasis on human approval of search relevance has also been expressed by search engines Mahalo and Hakia, but SemantiFind differs in that it is not trying to pull users away from their chosen search sites. Rather, it seeks to augment what they already use.

Yahoo announced it was shifting toward semantic indexing earlier this year, and Microsoft in July confirmed that it was acquiring semantic provider Powerset, and Google has been experimenting with its own SearchWiki semantic approval system.

Though the plug-in released today works with Yahoo and MSN as well, the search engine which utilizes Semantifind best is Google. Semanti Corp. President Scott Montgomerie spoke with BetaNews last week, calling his product "Google Plus." When in use, Google Suggest is replaced by Semantifind's "definition bar," instantly providing pertinent information about terms before the search even begins. Google also supports a SemantiFind toolbar. In other search engines, however, these features have not yet been added.