When fielding a query, the guide conducts "simultaneous searches on about 20-80 search engines", and sifts through the results to determine which they believe are most relevant. "It all happens in a matter of seconds," said LindaS.

"We type one search request and the 20, 30 or 80 or so results pop back to us. We browse quickly and send several out to you." An instant-messaging client built into the service allows the guide to ask the user further questions regarding their search terms. "Rather than linking search words to results (like a computer), we can actually read through the websites, first, before we send them so that we may see if it actually makes sense," said LindaS.

For example, when fielding a request for the term "apple", LindaS would be able to ask the user if they are referring to the fruit or the computer manufacturer. She would not disclose how much ChaCha pays her to be a guide, but said "you're paid for the time that you are logged into the system".

According to LindaS, prospective guides must be invited by another guide, and complete a training course before starting work. She added that she receives around 25 search requests an hour, but refuses to help with illegal or unethical queries, such as those regarding pornography. At the end of their session, users can rate their guide based on the relevance of the results they provided. LindaS said that this rating dictates how quickly the guide is promoted through the ranks, but she's quick to point out that not all requests can be sufficiently answered.

"Sometimes, we have individuals who will ask us to search for relatives or old classmates. I'm sorry to tell them it doesn't work that way! We're happy to search for information but it has its limits." This makes ChaCha different to other services such as Yahoo! Answers, which allows users to ask questions and have them answered by other volunteers, who are compensated with "points".

"Even expert searchers don't always have all the answers," ChaCha chief executive, Scott Jones, said in a statement. "For instance, say someone wanted to buy his or her teenager a new game for the holidays but didn't know what game was 'hip'. Well, on ChaCha, one could be connected to a real-life gamer whose expertise and knowledge are perfectly suited for that query." ChaCha says that thousands of guides have signed up to take part, and that previous results are indexed, allowing the search engine to "get smarter with every search".

ChaCha, supported by advertising, is free to use, but it remains to be seen whether or not the human guides can keep pace with the deluge of requests filed with larger search engines, such as Google, each day. MashUp Blog: Have you used ChaCha?