New Search Engine Gives Human Touch

In a Google-dominated world, starting a new search engine would seem a bad bet. But Scott Jones, an Indiana entrepreneur credited with perfecting voicemail, is undaunted. He believes would-be Google rivals like Microsoft have missed the mark by trying to outdo it with more powerful machines and algorithms.

His new search play, ChaCha, is instead putting its faith in an army of 3,000 expert searchers to personally help users find what they’re seeking. Visitors can choose to search with a guide—live via an instant-messaging program—who returns only a handful of sites and sticks with the user until the hunt is complete.