Powerset takes on Google with Wiki search tool

Powerset last week unveiled tools for searching Wikipedia that use
conversational phrasing instead of keywords, marking the first step of its
challenge to established Web search services such as Google.

Powerset's technology breaks down the meaning of words and sentences into
related concepts, freeing users from always needing to type the exact words they
want to find.

The closely watched Silicon Valley start-up is offering a way of searching
millions of entries in Wikipedia's online encyclopedia, helping users find
detailed answers to questions rather than isolated links that require further
research.

For example, a user who wants to know how many wives King Henry VIII had
(six, or two, depending on your definition of marriage) can find an answer via
Powerset's service at tinyurl.com/5qpcr9/.

San Francisco-based Powerset is looking to leapfrog the current generation of
services that rely on keyword searches such as Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and IAC
InterActive­Corp's Ask.com.

“The Wikipedia is becoming a microcosm of the most useful parts of the Web,”
said Greg Sterling, an Internet analyst with Sterling Market Intelligence. “This
offers a powerful way to find what you are looking for against this subset of
the Web.”

While still a far cry from letting users search the world wide web, Powerset
is using Wikipedia as a trial showcase for how its technology can be used to
search a vast number of other websites using natural language phrases or
questions.

Over time, it aims to partner with other high-quality data sites where
information can be organized in a question and answer form that lends itself to
Powerset search techniques. Examples might include financial or patent filings,
the CIA Factbook or Wikipedia-inspired clones, company officials said.

Powerset, which can be found at www.powerset.com/, looks beyond words to try
to understand conceptual relationships that get closer to what a user may be
searching for. It analyzes each sentence and whole documents to do so.

Powerset plans eventually to make money selling advertising alongside its
search services. But for now, the 60-employee company consists almost entirely
of computer scientists and linguists. It has no advertising staff and only a
handful of marketing and support staff.

Eric Auchard