I decided to run a search on Chacha.com with a Search Guide. Hoping to find out how well bmw.co.za does. As you chat, the results from the guide pop up in the results area. (I got this idea from Read/Write Web)

Here’s the transcript [brackets indicate what result popped up at that time]:

Status: Looking for a guide …
Status: Connected to guide: CarolynA
CarolynA: Welcome to ChaCha!
CarolynA: Good morning.
CarolynA: Any particular kind of car you’re looking for?
You: not sure
CarolynA: purchase, rent, or photo?
You: i think german
You: purchase
CarolynA: my pleasure. be right back.
CarolynA: Check that site. [1. www.autoworld.co.za]
You: thanks. is there anything from bmw or mercedes?
CarolynA: Let me see.
CarolynA: Second site is bmw. [2. www.ananzi.co.za (motoring dealerships page)]
CarolynA: Are you interested in pre-owned?
You: i’ll have a look if there’s anything you have
CarolynA: There’s a mercedes site. [3. www.mbusa.com]
You: hmmm, that looks like the usa though
You: i’m in south africa
CarolynA: says locate in south africa.
You: ah. cool. i’ll take a look.
You: thanks for your help
CarolynA: Let me see what else I can find. [4. www.bmw.co.za (finally!)]
CarolynA: My pleasure.
You: thanks [5. www.daimlerchrysler.co.za (some arb news page)]
You: how many searches do you do per day?
You: must be a lot!
CarolynA: I do around 30.
You: the bmw.co.za site looks perfect for what i need. thanks again
You: Thanks, I’m done.
Status: Session ended.

Overall experience was surprisingly good. I was expecting a bit more of a robot style conversation.

I think we have some work to do! In my book nothing short of top 2 will do (and yes we’re working on it).

I guess it’s only a matter of time before the search guide starts serving ads based on searcher input, earning a commission on user click-throughs.

- check the post on R/WW for a more detailed review on the search engine.