Yahoo Search Assist At 1; Google Toolbar At 8

Break out the birthday candles for Yahoo’s Search Assist and Google’s Toolbar.

Yahoo reminds us today that its Search Assist feature was launched a year ago this month. Search Assist is the feature that suggests words and phrases while you type in the Yahoo search box; it also suggests related concepts — something, Yahoo tells us, that no other search engine is doing.

And Yahoo can celebrate these numbers: Usage of search assist is up 60x since it was launched a year ago, and usage of related concepts has seen a 3x jump, according to Yahoo’s blog post.

The Google Toolbar, meanwhile, will soon celebrate its 8th birthday. And Google’s celebration includes the release of the latest edition of Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer.

In their announcement today, Google calls out three new features in this latest edition:

• Add gadgets to your Toolbar to bring content from your favorite websites closer to you
• Synchronize your settings online to access your Toolbar from wherever you are
• Create multiple profiles in AutoFill to keep your business and personal information separate

Google says this new version of the toolbar is available in 40 languages.