Google is creating an informationbridge between its influential Internet search engine and its widely used Gmailservice in its latest attempt to deliver more personal responses more quickly.
The experimental feature unveiled Wednesday will enable Google's search engineto mine the correspondence stored within a user's Gmail account for any datatied to a search request. For example, a query containing the word"Amazon" would pull emails with shipping information sent by theonline retailer.
Such Gmail results will typically be shown to the right of the main results,though in some instances, the top of the search page will highlight an answerextracted directly from an email. For example, the request "myflight" will show specific airline information imported from Gmail.Something similar could eventually happen when searching for a restaurantreservation or tickets to a concert.
Although Google has a commanding lead in Internet search, it remains worriedabout the threat posed by social networking services such as Facebook Inc. Associal networks have made it easier to share information online, the Web isstarting to revolve more around people than the keywords and links thatGoogle's search engine.
Google has been trying to adapt by building more personal services and pluggingthem into its search engine.
Blending email information into general search results could raise privacyworries. Google is trying to mitigate that by showing Gmail results in acollapsed format that users must open to see the details. For now, users mustsign up to participate.
Google Inc. ran into trouble over privacy in 2010 when it tapped the personalcontact information within Gmail accounts to build a social networking servicecalled Buzz. Google set up Buzz in a way that caused many users toinadvertently expose personal data from Gmail. An uproar culminated in aFederal Trade Commission settlement requiring the company to improve itsprivacy controls and undergo audits for 20 years.
Google is treading carefully as it hooks Gmail up to its Internet searchengine. The new feature initially will be available to 1 million Gmail userswho sign up at http://g.co/searchtrial . That's a small fraction of the morethan 425 million Gmail accounts that have been set up since Google launched itsfree email service eight years ago to compete against the offerings from YahooInc. and Microsoft Corp.
After getting feedback from the test participants, Google hopes to give allGmail users the option of plugging their accounts into the main search engine,according to Amit Singhal, a senior vice president for the company.
Singhal said Google is also willing to display information from other emailservice in its main search results. The gesture could avoid spurring additionalcomplaints about Google abusing its position as the Internet's search leader tofavor its other services. That issue is the focal point of an antitrustinvestigation by antitrust regulators in the U.S. and Europe.
Yahoo and Microsoft, the biggest rivals to Gmail, had no comment about Google'soffer.
When it started in 2004, Gmail provided 1 gigabyte of free storage, an amountthat was unheard of at the time. Now, many long-time Gmail users have 10gigabytes of storage. That has turned Gmail into a valuable storehouse ofpersonal information going back several years.
Gmail users already can pluck information contained in old correspondence byconducting a search within Gmail. Google is betting Gmail users will appreciatebeing able to eliminate a step by including any relevant email informationalongside the results of its main search page.
In the process, Google is hoping Web surfers will have even more reasons to useits dominant search engine, which already processes more than 100 billionrequests every month.
Luring more queries is crucial to Google because they give the company moreopportunities to show the ads that generate most of its revenue, which isexpected to exceed $49 billion this year.
Personal information from Google Plus, a social networking service started lastyear to compete with Facebook, has been featured in Google's main searchresults since January.
Ultimately, Google hopes to know enough about each of its users so it cananswer their questions with the precision and insight of the artificialintelligence that so far has been the stuff of science fiction.
"The destiny of search is to become that perfect Star Trek computer,"Singhal said.
In another step toward that goal, Google said Wednesday that it will soon bereleasing an improved version of its voice-powered search application for AppleInc.'s iPhone and iPad.
Google released the tool last month on its Nexus 7 tablet computer and otherdevices running on the latest version of its Android mobile operation system.The version for Apple's operating system, expected within a week, will be analternative to Siri, the built-in virtual assistant on the iPhone 4S.