The first product is a hand-optimized use of its technology to search Wikipedia along with Freebase, an open-source database of information. The results are fascinating in that the search results provide a new way to navigate through subjects. You can see what Powerset calls “factz” similar to facts, which are terms drawn from the subject matter dispersed throughout the two databases, that highlight and summarize complex subjects.
There are about 2.5m pages in Wikipedia which is a lot of information and a good size to demonstrate Powerset’s technology. Wikipedia was chosen because of its open license.
What will be Powerset’s next product? I wonder how many types of searches require a semantic understanding? It’ll be interesting to find out. In the meantime I encourage you to take Powerset for a spin.
Here is Powerset’s news release:
This release is the first step in Powerset changing the way users search and consume web content. Unlike traditional search engines, which look for words, Powerset matches the meaning of the users’ query to the meaning of sentences.
Answers – For many questions, Powerset automatically assembles an answer list from sentences in Wikipedia or data in Freebase. (screenshot)
Minibrowser – A result can be expanded to show the snippet in the context of the full Wikipedia article. (screenshot)
When consumers click on a search result, Powerset offers features that summarize long pages of content, allowing users to find and browse information quickly.
Article Outline – A navigational tool that follows users as they read Wikipedia articles (screenshot)
Allowing users to express themselves in the search box through keywords, phrases, or simple questions.
Quotes, attributable to Powerset executives:
“Wikipedia serves a fundamental human need – a single destination to find a broad range of information,” according to Barney Pell, Powerset co-founder and CTO. “This broad content base is a great way for us to showcase Powerset’s functionality while giving people a faster time to satisfaction.”
“Our first product has only touched the surface of what our technology will allow,” said Lorenzo Thione, co-founder and product architect. “Our team of computational linguists, computer scientists and engineers, together with the PARC technology we licensed, has allowed us to develop a solid platform to begin to change the way people consume content.”
“We have focused on making Powerset able to read and understand documents on the web as part of a broader vision to change the way people interact with technology,” said Scott Prevost, director of product. “This first product will make people’s search experiences on Wikipedia and Freebase easier, more natural and more relevant.”
Quote, attributable to Carla Thompson, senior analyst with Guidewire Group:
“Powerset’s new Wikipedia experience is an impressive achievement, and goes beyond what I expected to see from Powerset’s first public product,” said Carla Thompson, senior analyst with Guidewire Group. “In many ways, it defines a new search category altogether and brings the power of semantics to mass consumers. Once users have experienced the usability and deep relevance of Powerset-enabled Wikipedia search, I imagine they’ll start demanding this level of intelligence from all content channels.”
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