ChaCha Releases Beta Version of the World’s Largest Live Search Engine

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ChaCha (www.chacha.com) launches the Beta version of its breakthrough search engine today. ChaCha is the first search engine to offer two options for searching – with a human guide who assists you in real-time via an instant-message chat or without a guide resulting in immediate search results. By also being the first search engine to use live guides and accumulate their search results, ChaCha is able to provide the most relevant, targeted results through both of its search options. ChaCha’s Beta version improves upon its Alpha version by featuring improved system capacity, thousands more guides, an even deeper knowledge pool and millions of indexed previous search results. Essentially, ChaCha gets smarter with every search.

“ChaCha is for everyone – from the novice searcher to the most experienced,” said CEO Scott A. Jones. “Even expert searchers don’t always have all the answers. For instance, say someone wanted to buy his or her teenager a new game for the holidays but didn’t know what game was ‘hip.’ Well, on ChaCha, one could be connected to a real-life gamer whose expertise and knowledge are perfectly suited for that query. The guide not only helps find the perfect game, but even sends links of where to buy it.”

“ChaCha’s search-with-a-guide process connects you to a live person who has knowledge about your particular topic and who knows the best resources on the web for that topic, as well as the right search keywords,” said President Brad Bostic. “The ChaCha guide then sends you highly relevant links via an instant online chat session and follows up to make certain the results are just what you wanted.”

Since launching the experimental Alpha version in September 2006, ChaCha has had more than 14,000 people enter the system to serve as guides, with as many as 1,500 guides being added on any given day. The fast-growing guide community has been instrumental in ChaCha's accelerated development, with guides working around the clock to help end users find information online.

ChaCha guides are rated by end users and are paid accordingly, encouraging guides to deliver fast, relevant results. Guides can even take advantage of a groundbreaking instant-payment system developed by ChaCha to provide immediate rewards.

In addition to providing a flexible work-at-home job for its guides, ChaCha offers its users an easier way to find information online. Unlike traditional search engines, ChaCha does not require users to understand Boolean operators and other complexities of searching in order to receive optimal results.

The incorporation of human intelligence into the search process is quite beneficial, particularly when an ambiguous word is used in the search query. For example, searching for information on “apple” with a traditional search engine produces a wide variety of results, from the fruit to The Beatles’ record label. On ChaCha, a search for information on “apple” would prompt the guide to clarify what type of apple information the user is seeking. The guide would then search only for that specific information and thus would deliver only the most appropriate links.

“For many Internet users, the results derived from traditional search engines are less than satisfactory, as many in the industry note frequently,” said Jones. “With ChaCha, our guides know how to zip through millions of possible results to find the exact information you’re seeking.”

ChaCha is free to consumers because it is supported by advertising.

For more information or to “ChaCha” your next search query, try ChaCha’s Beta version at www.chacha.com.

About ChaCha

ChaCha, the first search engine to instantly connect users with people in real time to produce relevant results, was co-founded by Scott A. Jones and Brad A. Bostic in 2006. Derived from their high-tech experience, ChaCha is dedicated to providing a revolutionary new search experience. Jones is the inventor of the voicemail system used by over a half billion people worldwide and is the leader of other successful tech ventures (as noted on www.scottajones.com). Bostic has led a number of high-tech start-ups. For media inquiries, please contact Liza Dittoe of Dittoe Public Relations at 317-202-2280 or liza@dittoepr.com. For more information, visit www.chacha.com.