Summit: Bing to ‘transform’ search results

Microsoft-owned search engine Bing will focus on arranging search results in a more easily understandable way for customers.

Speaking at a Travolution Summit session on innovations, Jim Cruickshank, emea director of product management for Bing, said 80% of people are satisfied with search engines but only 30% are happy with the way results are organised.

He said Bing would look at categorising search results. “We intend to make them more digestible by categorising them and enriching then with imagery and real time social feeds.”

Travel will be a large focus for Bing as it sets out to “change up” the search market, said Cruikshank. “I believe the face of search is going to chance radically,” he said.

He said buying and researching travel online was often a “cold and sterile” experience for users, lacking the personal touch that high street travel agencies can offer.

“Consumers are often confused by all the ratings and reviews online and don’t know which they can trust.”