Yahoo! rolling out Google Instant-like previews

While it's not going to win points for a catchy name, Yahoo's new Rich Search Assist will provide some slick new functionality to its users. It's a bit like Google Suggest meets Google Instant Previews. Unlike Instant, however, Yahoo's previews appear in a floating element and only cover the top half of the page. Hover over a suggestion in the left column, and the preview appears on the right.

Yahoo's contextual customizations still appear in the previews as well -- like the Canon Eos pricing and specs in the screenshot or pro sports team snapshots. Rich Search assist is currently only available to a small number of testers, but it should be rolling out to all Yahoo! users in the very near future.

Search Engine Land has shared a YouTube clip of Rich Search Assist in action -- check it out after the break!

Tags: engine, google, instant, previews, search, yahoo