SearchCap: Bing Halloween, Amazon Echo, AdWords Cross-Device & RankBrain
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Topic: Siri
Amazon Echo Now Offers Local Search With Help From Yelp
Voice assistant offers basic business information via audio, additional details in its mobile app.
Only 3 Weeks Until SMX Israel, Taking Place In Jerusalem
Don't miss the best search marketing conference in the Middle East, SMX Israel, on November 1, 2015, in Jerusalem.
Looking Ahead: The New Search Landscape
What does the future hold for search? Contributor Casie Gillette recaps thoughts and predictions from search industry veterans at a panel from SMX East.
How Google Now, Siri & Cortana Predict What You Want
It's like magic when your digital assistant has an answer before you think to search. Here's how they understand your needs.
With iOS 9, Apple’s Siri & Spotlight Search Get Smarter
New sources continue to push Google to the edge of Apple's search ecosystem, but Google Now remains ahead on predictions.
Baidu Upgrades Mobile Virtual Assistant With Local Commerce Services
Baidu has upgraded its mobile virtual assistant to incorporate voice-enabled local transactions. The virtual assistant, powered by artificial intelligence, is now known as “Duer.” That apparently translates as “Du Secretary.” One translation of the word “du” I saw was “to study, to learn.” Phonetically, it also sounds like the English word “do,” as in to […]
SearchCap: Siri On Apple TV, Google AdWords Conversions & NFL Google Logo
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: AdWords Changes The Definition Of Conversions For Reporting & Columns Sep 10, 2015 by Greg Finn In mid-October, AdWords will be changing the “Conversions” columns and reporting to only include optimized […]
Siri Comes To Apple TV & Could Make Search A Natural Part Of Watching
A Siri button on the new Apple TV remote lets users pull up weather, sports scores, and search across apps.
Look Out Siri, Google Now & Cortana, Facebook M Wants To Be Your Digital Assistant
The social network is experimenting with a service within Messenger that it believes will make better recommendations than its rivals. M will even complete tasks for people.
Cortana For Android Is Officially Available For Download In US Beta
A month ago, Microsoft’s virtual assistant Cortana became available for download in a pre-beta release. Now, an official US beta version of Cortana for Android is here. An iOS version is coming soon. The full Cortana experience and functionality are available to Windows 10 and Windows Phone users. But because Cortana for Android doesn’t access […]
Google’s iOS App Now Provides Context-Aware Conversational Search
Google recently updated its iOS app to bring context-aware searching to any content within search results. It allows searchers to ask additional questions without formulating entirely new queries. Here’s how Google explains the functionality in the app update description: Say “Ok Google” and ask a question while on any Web page to get smart answers about what you […]
Cortana For Android Available For Download Ahead Of Official Launch
A few days ago, Microsoft’s digital assistant, Cortana, became available for download. This is not the official launch, and it’s not clear the software is ready for all Android devices. It certainly didn’t function properly on my Nexus tablet. Several people have already written about it, and it appears to be fully functioning for some. […]
For FIFA Women’s World Cup, Google Gives Women Less Space Than Men
For the men's tournament, Google was quick with special boxes to highlight results. For the women's tournament, the boxes are often missing.
SearchCap: Apple iOS9, Yelp Paid Reviews & Google Now On Tap Examples
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Now On Tap Finds In-App Answers, Navigates Between Apps Seamlessly Like a monkey swinging from tree to tree, Google Now on Tap is able to navigate between apps and generate […]
Apple Boosts iOS 9 Intelligence With Proactive Siri, Expanded Search & In-App Deep Linking
In announcing some of Siri’s new “proactive” capabilities yesterday at WWDC, Apple’s Craig Federighi said the company was “Enhancing how you use your device but without compromising your privacy.” A not-so-indirect swipe at Google, this approach also suggests limitations out of the gate. Federighi discussed a cluster of “intelligent” enhancements to Siri and search intended […]
Apple Brings Public Transit, New Search Capabilities To Maps
As anticipated, at its WWDC conference today, Apple introduced public transit routing as part of iOS 9 Apple Maps upgrades. It also introduced new local search capabilities, which are part of a broader search initiative that we discuss separately. The company did not announce anything new regarding indoor mapping however. Enhanced indoor location capabilities and […]
SearchCap: Updated Bing Ads Editor, How To Fix A Bad Online Review & E-Commerce SEO Problems
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google’s Aparna Chennapragada Says Web Sites May Show In Now On Tap In Addition To Apps Google Now On Tap may show links to relevant web pages, not just relevant native […]
Report: Apple May Launch Google Now Competitor At June WWDC Event
New "Proactive" search capability built in part on earlier Cue acquisition.
Report: 75 Percent Of Google’s Mobile Search Revenue Comes From Apple Devices
If true Google will likely fight to maintain search relationship with Apple.
Cortana Everywhere: Speech-Driven Digital Assistants As The New Universal UI
Microsoft's Project Oxford offers bundle of advanced tools and functionality to developers.
SearchCap: Apple Web Search, Google Search Analytics & Wave Goodbye To Emojis
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Content Marketing For Local Businesses: Get Creative & Pay To Play Even with all the competition online, local businesses can still stand out using creative content to attract new customers. Columnist […]
Apple Confirms Their Web Crawler: Applebot
Apple finally confirms they have a web crawler, primarily used for Siri and Spotlight Suggestions.
For Task Completion, Cortana Now Integrates More Deeply With Apps
Third party app developers can now integrate content into the Cortana UI.
Report: Microsoft’s Cortana Coming To iOS, Android This Fall
Reuters is reporting that Microsoft is getting ready to make Cortana, its digital assistant, available on Android and iOS as an app. This possibility was first raised in a Microsoft SMX Advanced keynote conversation last year. The Reuters article also discusses a Cortana-linked, artificial intelligence project called “Einstein.” At the time of SMX Advanced Microsoft […]
Prediction: Apple Will Not Renew Google As Safari Default Search Engine
I’m going to predict that Apple and Google will not renew their Safari default search deal in the U.S. Both parties now have reasons not to renew. We don’t know precisely when their deal is up, but we know it’s this year. Previously, The Information reported that Microsoft and Yahoo are independently competing for the Safari business and that Apple’s Eddie Cue is […]
Understanding & Leveraging Search By Voice: Up Close @SMX
Columnist Rachel Lindteigen recaps a presentation on voice search and opportunities for marketers, in coverage of the SMX West conference.
As Apple-Google Deal Expires, Who Will Win The Safari Default Search Business?
Will it be Bing, Yahoo or Apple itself that supplies Safari's search engine?
Cortana Expands The Boundaries Of Search, But Will It Eventually Eat It Too?
Cortana, the personal digital assistant, has become a key part of Microsoft's competitive strategy.
Google Now Bugs Remove Cards From Users While Google Now Tests Custom Background Themes
Google Now has a bug where informational cards are not being displayed to some users. Plus, Google Now is testing geographically relevant background themes.
Yahoo Search Back Online After 4+ Hour Outage; Bing Went Down Earlier Friday
Outage seems to have hit around 2:30 pm ET.
Report: Google-Apple Safari Search Deal Expiring, Yahoo & Bing Want In
According to The Information Google’s default Safari search deal with Apple is up in 2015. Microsoft and Yahoo are reportedly separately competing for the Safari business across devices. The Information says that both companies are pitching to Apple’s Eddie Cue and that his decision will be based “on the quality of the product as much as the potential […]
Apple Webcrawler: More Potential Evidence Of Search Ambitions
Apple Insider reports on the discovery of a web-crawling bot originating from Apple’s servers. It was first “outed” by developer Jan Moesen. This is what Moesen saw: Moesen reports that the bot is only crawling HTML, “not the CSS, JavaScript or image files.” Then he asks whether this is an “official Apple project” or just “someone crawling the web […]
Apple Capturing Spotlight Search Query Data, Sharing With Bing
An improved Spotlight Search is a central feature of Apple’s new Yosemite operating system for the Mac. As reported when Yosemite was announced in June, Spotlight searches your desktop but also provides web search suggestions from Bing. There are a number of structured data sources such as Wikipedia, Maps and Fandango that also show up in results. Bing’s role in Spotlight wasn’t […]
SearchCap: Upcoming Google 3rd Party Policy Changes, Quixey Announces Alibaba Deal & More
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Agencies Take Note: Google Third-Party Policy Changes Coming Nov. 2014 Last month, Google rolled out an updated policy center for all advertisers. Starting in November, agencies and other third-party firms and […]
Like Google, Apple’s Siri Also Gets Stephen Colbert’s Height Wrong
Google came under fire last night from Stephen Colbert, over a direct answer that got the comedian’s height wrong. But Apple’s Siri makes the same mistake — something Colbert didn’t raise during his video appearance at the Apple’s iPad event today. Stephen Colbert Demands Google Apology For Getting His Height Wrong on our Marketing Land […]
Teens Embrace Voice Search, Many Adults Feel “Like Geeks” Using It
According to a voice search study commissioned by Google, the most smartphone-obsessed teens are using voice search every day. However many adults feel self-conscious or embarrassed when they talk to their smartphones. The study found that 45 percent of US adults said they felt “like a geek” talking to their phones. (Yet this is what […]
Google (Now) Beats Siri And Cortana For Direct Answers — Study
Stone Temple Consulting (STC) published a study in which it compared mobile answers to “3086 different queries” on Siri, Google and Cortana to determine how each performed relative to the others. Google was the winner with more direct answers and more complete information. Eric Enge, who wrote up the results, says this was not a “personal assistant […]
SearchCap: Google In The News, Bing Movie Carousel & Google PageRank Dead
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Shows What’s Playing At The Movies, In Remake Of Google’s Own Film Carousel Bing has a new way of showing you what’s playing in your local theater, a “carousel” format […]
Cortana Coming To Windows 9, Will It Replace Bing?
Next week in San Francisco, Microsoft will unveil Windows 9 for the press. Among the features of the new OS is reportedly going to be the virtual assistant Cortana. A range of sites are repeating some early evidence found by a German site, and also a discussion on Neowin, that assert Cortana will be a central feature […]