Microsoft has unveiled major changes to its Live Search service intended to give it a better foothold in its ongoing battle with Google.

The Redmond giant has concentrated its improvements on the nuts and bolts of the search engine, enhancing its core search technology and strengthening the vertical search areas of entertainment, shopping, local and health.

“With this update, our engineering focus is on the areas that matter most to the 185 million consumers who use our service every month,” said Satya Nadella, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Search and Advertising Platform Group.

Up to 40 per cent of searches fall into the categories of entertainment, shopping, health and local search, and the enhanced Live Search is geared towards delivering relevant content in a compelling way across these key vertical search areas.

A new video search feature offers smart motion previews, facts and news on celebrities and a new xRank celebrity ranking tool. The shopping and health searches have also been refreshed to derive the most relevant content from trusted sources, allowing consumers to refine searches faster and with more accuracy.

Source: [1] Yahoo News UK

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