ChaCha: People-Powered Search Aims To Be Google Alternative

When you can’t find what you need quickly using popular search services like Google, try ChaCha, an online search engine that offers—drum-roll please—free human customer support. Unlike any other search engine we know of, ChaCha will instantly connect you with a live ChaCha Guide who can help find what you’re looking for. And it’s free!

According to ChaCha, its Guides are “real people skilled at finding information on the Internet and knowledgeable on the subject at hand so that you get the few exact results you want, not the millions of results you don’t.” In addition, the company says, “ChaCha saves, rates, and updates all the answers that are hand-picked by our Guides. ChaCha’s intelligent Guide application learns from every search so our Guides know where to look to find information for you quickly.”

After one test drive, we found the service very compelling—and very fast. Chat room-type functionality makes it possible for you to communicate your needs to a human guide. We found the experience to be a positive one. Our ChaCha Guide was quick, polite, and user-focused. In fact, our experience made us so excited, we found ourselves becoming ChaCha fashionistas.

Our advice: Pick a topic you really need to find more information about. Then, give ChaCha a whirl. Grab yourself a human guide and get ready for information discovery.