Microsoft Trialing New Search Service Internally

Microsoft has begun internally testing its new search service called Kumo and is asking employees to provide feedback.

"Kumo.com exists only inside the corporate network, and in order to get enough feedback we will be redirecting internal live.com traffic over to the test site in the coming days," wrote Satya Nadella, senior vice president of research and development for Microsoft’s online services division in an internal memo.

Satya Nadella

The memo was first made public on All Things Digital.

Kumo in Japanese means "cloud" or "spider" and is the current codename for the internal test, but it is not known if Microsoft will keep the name.

"In spite of the progress made by search engines, 40% of queries go unanswered; half of queries are about searchers returning to previous tasks; and 46% of search sessions are longer than 20 minutes, Nadella wrote.

"These and many other learnings suggest that customers often don’t find what they need from search today. We believe we can provide a better and more useful search experience that helps you not just search but accomplish tasks."

While being tested, Kumo’s features will vary by country, according to the internal memo and results will be organized in a way to save time.

"An explorer pane on the left side of results pages will give you access to tools that help you with your tasks," wrote Nadella. " Other features like single session history and hover preview help accomplish more in search sessions."

Microsoft is also testing a new search site called Viveri, which aims to offer better search results from vertical search engines. Viveri is expected to launch sometime this summer.