Webware

Category: Data

ChaCha is a human-assisted search tool. What that means is that users have a text-chat conversation with a person on the other end of the search engine, someone who's supposedly an expert, and they help you find the info you're looking for. In addition to this, there's a regular (read: people-free) search tool that lets you hunt for results unassisted.

We didn't have great luck with this our first time, but the idea is really neat. Short of hiring a research assistant or using search experts, there's not an easier way to have someone help you find something without having to leave the house.

Web site: www.ChaCha.com

Webware coverage: ChaCha: Where the experts, sadly, aren't

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