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Search assistant system and method

  • US 9,495,461 B2
  • Filed: 03/22/2011
  • Issued: 11/15/2016
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2011
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method comprising:

  • receiving, by a computing device over a network from a user computer, alphanumeric characters forming a portion of a search query submitted by a user in a search query entry area;

    receiving, by the computing device from a search suggestion module, a plurality of search suggestions related to the portion of the search query;

    transmitting, by the computing device to the user computer, the plurality of search suggestions for display by the user computer in a first portion of a search suggestion region before the search query is initiated via user input, the search suggestion region displayed differently than a search results area;

    receiving, from the user computer by the computing device, a selection of a search suggestion in the plurality of search suggestions;

    transmitting, by the computing device, a search suggestion of the selected search suggestion to a rich content module, wherein the transmitting of the search suggestion to the rich content module further comprises classifying, by the rich content module, the search suggestion into a category, the classifying of the search suggestion into a category further comprises basing the classifying on a classification technique selected from a group of classification technique types consisting of fixed priority order, query classification confidence level, using search session context of the user, and using a search history profile of the user;

    receiving, by the computing device from the rich content module, rich content related to the transmitted search suggestion, the rich content scraped from the network and comprising text and additional content, the scraping of the network for the rich content further comprising performing the scraping while the computing device is not in communication with the user computer, the additional content comprising at least one graphic and a web link, the additional content comprising a preview of content present on one or more web pages, the additional content comprising a profile relating to the selected search suggestion and statistics associated with the selected search suggestion, the web pages responsive to the selected search suggestion and prior to any navigation by the user; and

    transmitting, by the computing device to the user computer, the rich content for display by the user computer in a second portion of the search suggestion region before the search query is initiated via user input, the second portion of the search suggestion region being separate from the first portion of the search suggestion region.

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