Google unveils major upgrade to search algorithm By Richard Taylor North America Technology Correspondent

Amit Singhal, a senior vice president at Google,
introduces the new Hummingbird search
algorithm
Google has unveiled an upgrade to the way it
interprets users' search requests.
The new algorithm, codenamed Hummingbird, is
the first major upgrade for three years.
It has already been in use for about a month, and
affects about 90% of Google searches.
At a presentation on Thursday, the search giant
was short on specifics but said Hummingbird is
especially useful for longer and more complex
queries.
Google stressed that a new algorithm is
important as users expect more natural and
conversational interactions with a search engine -
for example, using their voice to speak requests
into mobile phones, smart watches and other
wearable technology.
Hummingbird is focused more on ranking
information based on a more intelligent
understanding of search requests, unlike its
predecessor, Caffeine, which was targeted at
better indexing of websites.
It is more capable of understanding concepts and
the relationships between them rather than
simply words, which leads to more fluid
interactions. In that sense, it is an extension of
Google's "Knowledge Graph" concept introduced
last year aimed at making interactions more
human.
In one example, shown at the presentation, a
Google executive showed off a voice search
through her mobile phone, asking for pictures of
the Eiffel Tower. After the pictures appeared, she
then asked how tall it was. After Google correctly
spoke back the correct answer, she then asked
"show me pictures of the construction" - at which
point a list of images appeared.
Big payoffs?
However, one search expert cautioned that it was
too early to determine Hummingbird's impact.
"For me this is more of a coming out party,
rather than making me think 'wow', said Danny
Sullivan, founder of Search Engine Land.
"If you've been watching this space, you'd have
already seen how they've integrated it into the
[predictive search app] Google Now and
conversational search.
"To know that they've put this technology further
into their index may have some big payoffs but
we'll just have to see how it plays out," Mr
Sullivan said.
The news was announced at an intimate press
event at the Silicon Valley garage where founders
Sergei Brin and Larry Page worked on the launch
of the search engine, which is fifteen years old on
Friday.