Google Tests ‘Bloom’, an Experimental Vertical Knowledge Search

Google seems to be testing an experimental vertical knowledge search feature called Bloom. A code change request I spotted today talks about integrating Bloom with Chrome.

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Bloom – Experimental Vertical Knowledge Search

I could not find any details about a vertical search engine named Bloom anywhere on the web.

That being said, here is what I found on the Chromium source code:

“Enable Bloom Integration: Enables native support for bloom, an experimental vertical knowledge search feature.”

Further, there is another related code change from the same developer:

“2356934: [WIP] Bloom prototype”

The first code change, the flag, is for the Chrome browser. However, if you look at the second one, the developer has added the code to “Ash“. Ash is the“Aura Shell”, the window manager, and system UI for Chrome OS.

Bloom – Code change in Chromium

That’s all we know so far about “Bloom”. Have you heard of a Google project named “Bloom”? Let me know in the comments section.

Vertical Search Engine

Now, if you are wondering what a vertical search engine is, here is some information. According to Wikipedia:

“A vertical search engine is distinct from a general web search engine, in that it focuses on a specific segment of online content. They are also called specialty or topical search engines. The vertical content area may be based on topicality, media type, or genre of content. Common verticals include shopping, the automotive industry, legal information, medical information, scholarly literature, job search and travel. Examples of vertical search engines include the Library of Congress, Mocavo, Nuroa, Trulia and Yelp.”

According to goup.co.uk:

“Vertical engines are search engines that specialise in different types of search. In the generic Google model, examples of verticals would be Google’s image search, location or map search, news search, and web search. In many respects these should be considered to be separate search engines, all within the Google umbrella.”

Conclusion

I do not want to speculate what Bloom is based on the limited information we have. However, this will definitely be an interesting project to track in the coming days.

As usual, stay tuned to Chrome Story as we track the progress of Bloom and other Chrome and Chrome OS feature in development.

Source: Gerrit.