We’ve improved the Search box in Internet Explorer 8 so that search providers can deliver rich, contextual search suggestions in real time. As you type a search term, you’ll see relevant suggestions that can be categorized and may even include images. For instance, you might find images of products from your favorite store as you search, or stock charts from your online brokerage account in the Search Box drop-down list. Internet Explorer 8 provides the technology, but the choice of what to show is made by the search provider.

Popular sites such as Bing, Wikipedia, Amazon.com, The New York Times online, Yahoo!, eBay, OneRiot, ESPN, Photobucket, and TinyPic are all taking advantage of the new search capabilities in Internet Explorer 8. In addition, because people often use Search to get back to sites that they’ve visited before, Internet Explorer 8 includes matches from your Favorites and History in the bottom of the Search Box drop-down list.

The enhanced Instant Search box in Internet Explorer 8 is more helpful than before, making it easier to find interesting content and returning more relevant search results. As you type a search term, you’ll see real-time search suggestions—including images and rich text—from the search provider you’ve chosen. The Instant Search box will even display results from your Favorites and browsing history. A quick pick menu at the bottom of the Instant Search box lets you switch back and forth between your favorite Web sites and search provider’s search suggestions with a click of the mouse.