Boston.com / Business / Technology / Google bypassed in search deal

Boston.com / Business / Technology / Google bypassed in search deal

In a blow to Google Inc., which provides general Web search for America Online members, AOL yesterday said it has chosen Fast Search & Transfer to power a revamping of its local search service.

Riaz said Fast employs an advanced "geosearch" family of algorithms that enable "contextual navigation" to connect queries with their context. "We provide the invoice number, the customer name, the cake recipe that individuals want," Riaz said. By contrast, he said, "Google has thousands and thousands and thousands of servers that run on one simplistic model and provide the same results for everyone."

AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc., already offers search in conjunction with its local content such as CityGuide, MapQuest, Moviefone, and AOL Yellow Pages. Its local search update will pool all the data and create a more intuitive search experience for members, said Gerry Campbell, general manager and vice president of search and navigation for AOL in Dulles, Va. "When you start with a geographically focused Web crawl, the local relevance will be much higher," Campbell said. "The Web is at the point now where there's lots of great information in everybody's area."