Instant Search: The Best Tools of 2010 and Search-As-You-Type Today
Instant search means seeing results while you are still typing. In September 2010 it was the hottest trend on the web: within days of Google Instant, developers built instant versions of YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter, Flickr and more. This article looks back at the best instant search tools of that moment and where you can still search as you type today.
Quick answer: The 2010 instant search tools were small fan-made apps built on public APIs, and nearly all of them are gone. Google itself switched off Google Instant in July 2017 because most searches had moved to mobile. Today you get search-as-you-type through autocomplete suggestions in Google, YouTube, Wikipedia and your computer’s own search, while site owners can add it with tools like Algolia or Meilisearch.
Table of Contents
The 2010 instant search craze
Instant searches looked like the future of search. Developers used public APIs to build instant versions of popular web services in a matter of days. Here were the best ones we found at the time:
- Google Instant: the feature that started the whole instant search business, showing Google results as you typed. Read our original post on Google Instant.
- YouTube Instant: start typing and the best-matching YouTube video started playing. See the full story of YouTube Instant. Similar apps like Instatube listed the results quickly.
- WikiInstant: type a term and the Wikipedia page for it opened straight away.
- Twitter Instant: Twitter search results as you typed.
- Google Maps Instant: watch the location appear on the map as you typed an address.
- Google Images Instant: images appeared before you finished your query.
- Flickr Instant: browse Flickr photos as you typed a search term.
- iTunes Instant: a web-based search engine for instant music results.
- RSS Instant (Feediop): an instant RSS browser that found blog feeds as you typed.
- App Store Instant: instant search across the App Store for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad apps.
- Instant Live Search: an instant search powered by the Bing API.
What happened to instant search?
Most of these tools were weekend projects that depended on free APIs. As those APIs changed or closed, the apps stopped working and quietly disappeared.
Google Instant lasted longer, but in July 2017 Google removed it. A Google spokesperson told BetaNews that many more searches now happen on mobile, with very different input, interaction and screen constraints. Autocomplete suggestions stayed.
Where to get instant search today
For everyday searching
- Google: autocomplete suggests queries as you type; pick one with the arrow keys to search.
- YouTube: suggestions appear as you type in the search box.
- Wikipedia: the search box suggests matching articles while you type.
- Your computer’s search: Spotlight on Mac and Windows Search both show apps, files and settings as you type.
For website owners
- Algolia: a hosted search service popular for search-as-you-type on websites and stores.
- Meilisearch: an open-source search engine designed for fast search-as-you-type results.
You can also speed up your own searching from the browser bar by adding site search to Chrome.
FAQ
What is instant search?
Instant search shows results, not just suggestions, while you are still typing your query.
Does Google still have instant search?
No. Google removed Google Instant in July 2017 but kept autocomplete suggestions.
Do the 2010 instant search tools still work?
Almost none do. They relied on APIs that have since changed or closed.
How can I add instant search to my website?
Use a search service built for it, such as Algolia or the open-source Meilisearch.
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I am agreeing with mike in the next 10 years we will have pretty much anything instant.
Really great points covered here!
This is really awesome.. Google is the first and then all follow ;)
Can Instant search be implemented using fast search for sharepoint (FS4SP)??
Instant search gives you answers as you type- no more waiting.Want to jump to instant search result you see? Just hit Cntr+Enter.
you omitted the instant search of Gmail as made possible with this fab extension:
https://cloudmagic.com/
With so much things are going instant like right now, in the next 10 years we will have pretty much anything instant like instant web host, instant domain, even instant house and instant cars :)
Everything is instant this instant that-wonder what is next-totally EXPRESS!
Wow .. Isntant and instant for all product and apps .. Good.
I feel too much of isntant is not good.
Nice Post QOT
Add to your list: http://PMinstant.com – It searches instantly through PubMed. PubMed is the biggest database for life sciences and biomedical literature, already receiving more hits as WikInstant.com (I’m the creator of that one as well).
Good luck and please give me feedback!
A domain name search tool. https://instantdomainsearch.com/