Bing has deemed itself a “decision engine” ever since the search engine was launched back in 2009 on June 3^rd. Rather than simply be a typical search engine Bing strives to take the search a user makes and do more than simply generate random results. Bing creates results that allow the user to make the best decision in terms of which link to use for the search. Microsoft has been diligent since the original launch over three years ago about adding features to Bing to make the tool unique compared to Google and other competing search engines. The latest news from Microsoft about improvements to Bing is very interesting.

The official Bing Search Blog post for Thursday, June 7 was entitled “Bing introduces New Britannica Online Encyclopedia Answers”. Bing has teamed up with one of the more respected sources for information, the Encyclopedia Britannica. Before the days of the internet and students using online resources to perform research for term papers and other assignments, the Encyclopedia was one the primary sources of research.

Today the Encyclopedia Britannica still does come in its classic hardcover form but the resource can be accessed online as well. Britannica.com takes the information provided for years in book form to the internet, providing users a reliable online resource when searching for information about the history of this world. Wikipedia may be a popular source for information but since anyone can edit any page on that website Wikipedia is a flawed resource. The Encyclopedia Britannica is a trusted source of information and the partnership with Bing adds quite a bit of character to Bing’s search engine functionality.

A search result on Bing that links to Britannica.com will have a thumbnail image specific to the search, a quick overview about the result and any facts that can be delivered quickly to the user. Britannica links will appear right within the organic search results on a Bing SERP. Franco Salvetti, Principal Development Lead for Bing states that Bing is “very excited to collaborate with Encyclopedia Britannica as it continues to strengthen its online presence, and hope you find these new answers valuable and helpful in your search for information.” This could be a great tool for someone wanting to find search results that possess a wealth of information. Students and bloggers should take some time and examine this new feature on Bing.