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Google drops Instant Search to unify mobile and desktop queries

The seven-year-old feature ends today.

Google introduced the by-now familiar Instant Search back in 2010. The idea was to make searching faster by updating the results of your search in real time while you typed. Now the company is dropping the feature, according to SearchEngineLand, to bring it more in line with mobile search. The change is effective today.

More than half of all Google searches happen on mobile, so it makes sense that Google would want to unify the way results are displayed across all devices. While you'll still be able to see search suggestions, the results below won't update until you click on Enter or a result, says SearchEngineLand.

"We launched Google Instant back in 2010 with the goal to provide users with the information they need as quickly as possible, even as they typed their searches on desktop devices," a Google spokesperson told Engadget in an email. "Since then, many more of our searches happen on mobile, with very different input and interaction and screen constraints. With this in mind, we have decided to remove Google Instant, so we can focus on ways to make Search even faster and more fluid on all devices."