Google Works to Make Search Smarter

Not content to rest on its search laurels, this week Google outlined some ways it’s working to make its flagship consumer product better and more personal.

The company said Wednesday that it is allowing some users to sign up to see emails from their Gmail accounts within search results on the Web, along with the other results that would normally pop up in response to a query. 

Google also said that it’s making its Voice Search product–sort of the Android version of Apple’s Siri–better able to understand questions and respond in complete sentences (already available for Android users, Google says this will soon be rolled out for the iPhone and iPad). It will, for example, show you local movie listings if you ask what movies are playing this weekend.

The company’s efforts to improve search comes as its rivalry with Apple for mobile dominance continues to grow.