Guy Kawasaki, Google Explore the Future of Search

"The best time for search is now," Amit Singhal stated during his interview with Guy Kawasaki on day three of SXSWi. Why? Because he is thinking about search in relation to everything – from mobile devices to technology embedded clothing.

Singhal is the senior vice president for Google as well as a Google fellow, with a PhD in Search. He's been in the business for 20 years, 12 of which he's spent at Google. He believes that the perfect search engine should know exactly what you mean and give you exactly what you want, something for which he is striving.

Kawasaki began the interview by asking Singhal for context, to explain the basic algorithm of search and how it works.

"Search should be comprehensive, relevant, and fast," Singhal said. It takes over 200 signals to build the perfect search engine, and many lines of code. When asked exactly how many lines of code, he simply responded, "More than I can read or write today. A big number."

That is how much of the interview went. Broad, philosophical strokes around the future of search, but not a lot of detail.

How has search evolved? People didn't expect search to work in the early days, and now people completely expect it to work. "The questions have been getting harder. People ask us about things that will improve their lives, like health issues. And sometimes it's just, does my hair make me look bad?" Singhal said.

So, when Google thinks about search, Singhal continued, we think about how it can improve people's lives. The mobile revolution is pushing them to look at search with a much wider lens. Instead of just the device, they consider the context – how and when you are using the device.

Kawasaki asked the question that was on everyone's mind: how can companies improve search results? Singhal didn't divulge any secrets. "If you build high-quality content and your readers seek you out, then you don't need to worry," he said.  In essence, make it fast and know your users.

How does Google look at the future of search? Singhal went to voice recognition. "Voice is a more natural interface than typing. But you still have to have other modalities. Voice is a clear component of interacting with search in the future."

Kawasaki moved to Google Now, asking Singhal about the vision. "It's a perfect assistant. It should be able to tell you things without you having to ask. For example, if your flight is delayed, you shouldn't have to ask. The computer should just tell you. Or, if your meeting is an hour away and there's traffic, Google should be able to tell you when you should leave. Information should just come to you."

What about developing markets? Translation is where Google is putting its focus. "We're investing in translation tools so that people around the world can access information. Build an infrastructure so people can get to data centers so everyone has access to Google and the entire Web."

Finally, Singhal is most excited about the future of devices, like Google Glass.

"You need to be able to search on every device. It's another context or modality upon which to build a user experience. I think, how am I going to build search for everything out there? It's a great time for search."