Using pre-search triggers

#The present specification relates to information retrieval.

#Internet search engines identify resources (e.g., web pages, images, text documents, multimedia content) that are relevant to a user's information needs, and present information about the resources in a manner that is useful to the user. Typically, users submit queries that suggest the information the users want to retrieve, and search engines provide search results that are responsive to the queries.

#A search engine system can perform a search and can provide information to a user before the user submits a search query, for example in response to detecting a pre-search trigger. The search engine system predicts a topic likely to be of interest to the user. When the search engine system detects a pre-search trigger and determines that a confidence score for the predicted topic is above a threshold, the search engine identifies a resource related to the topic by causing a search to be performed. The search engine system then provides a representation of the identified resource to the user.

#FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a system that can provide information in response to a pre-search trigger.

#FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a process for providing information in response to a pre-search trigger.

#FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are examples of user interfaces that illustrate search engine home pages that include representations of resources.

#Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.

#FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a system 100 that can provide information in response to a pre-search trigger. The system 100 includes a client device 102, a server system 104, and a network 106. The client device 102 can be, for example, a desktop computer, laptop computer, cellular phone, smart phone, tablet computer, a music player, an e-book reader, or navigation system. The functions performed by the server system 104 can be performed by individual computer systems or can be distributed across multiple computer systems.

#A search engine system can enhance a user's experience by providing information about a topic of interest to the user before the user initiates a search or enters a search query. The search engine system identifies a topic, for example, “movies,” “baseball,” or “fishing in Colorado.” Using information about a particular user, the search engine system generates a confidence score indicating a likelihood that the identified topic will be of interest to the particular user. The search engine system predicts that the topic is likely of interest to the user when the confidence score satisfies a threshold. The search engine system may identify multiple topics, and can simultaneously provide content for multiple topics satisfying the threshold or provide content for a topic assigned the highest confidence score.