A potential Google rival has gone live to the public and uses natural language processing to understand queries.
Wolfram Alpha wants to change the way people use online data and is referred to as a computation knowledge engine as opposed to a search engine, putting it in a different league to Google altogether. Wolfram Alpha aims to provide direct answers to queries rather than direct them to websites that may have the information they want. This is a clever idea and could capture a core market of those that want answers to specific questions.
Unveiled in April 09, the program has people pondering as to the longevity and popularity of it, and with Google still the significant frontrunner, word will have to spread quickly about Wolfram Alpha if it is ever to compete in the same league.
The results that are displayed through this engine are typically annotated pages of data rather than a basic list of other sites that might help the user.
Some predict that this new engine could sink without a trace and Google will no doubt revel in the fact another so-called competitor has fallen overboard. However, with search patterns constantly changing, Wolfram Alpha has the potential to be just what the users are looking for.
Want to know more? Click here: Google's Potential Rival
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