Search Direct starts working as soon as you click inside the query window. A dropdown box before you've typed a single character.

A larger window to the right of the trending list displays relevant information as you type. Enter "cameras," for instance, and Search Direct for Yahoo Shopping:

The benefit to you, gentle searcher, is that Yahoo provides relevant information before you've left the search box. You may very well be directed to Yahoo's in-house content (as the above camera example shows), but that shouldn't come as a surprise. And, of course, you can proceed to a traditional search results page--the usual list of blue links--simply by tapping the Enter key.

Is Yahoo Search Direct better than Google Instant? This depends on what type of information you're seeking. NCAA hoops fanatics who type "march madness" in Yahoo Search Direct .

By comparison, Google Instant users entering the same query (partial results page shown).