Enlarge By Justin Sullivan, Getty Images Google Search Product and User Experience Marissa Mayer speaks during an announcement September 8, 2010 in San Francisco, California. Google announced the launch of Google Instant, a faster version of Google search that streams results live as you type your query. Search giant Google (GOOG) on Wednesday introduced instant search results that promise to save users time. Google Instant searches the Web "as you type, not after you type," Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search product and user experience, said at a press event at San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art. The new tools were rolled out in the U.S. on Wednesday, and will spread internationally through the week. Businesses that work hard to be found in Google's results may have to adjust their strategies based on the changes. Google's new search feature tries to figure out what you are searching for as each letter enters the query box. For example, typing the letter "w" causes Google to speculate that you are looking for the weather. It instantly displays a local forecast. TECH LIVE: Mashable's liveblog of the Google announcement. 'W' IS FOR WEATHER: What Google thinks the other letters of the alphabet stand for Similarly, typing "the girl" will display instant results to the popular book The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. There's no need to type the entire title and press enter. Google predicts your interests based on your past search history and your local Web address, which tells Google where you are. You need to sign in to your Google account for Instant to work. Mayer said the average Google query takes 15 seconds to enter and 300 milliseconds to process. Google Instant is designed to cut down on that time. "We estimate this will help users save two to five seconds per query," she said. The new feature "makes search more interactive. Power users will really appreciate it," says Greg Sterling, an analyst with researcher Sterling Market Intelligence. Google is developing a version of instant search for mobile devices, such as cellphones. That may have the biggest impact "because of the fewer keystrokes," Sterling says. "It will make mobile search more widely used." Google Instant could be a blow to rivals because it offers a "much faster experience,"' says Danny Sullivan, editor of Search Engine Land. A search using Microsoft's Bing "will seem so much slower, like they're using their grandfather's search engine," he says. Websites will also need to adapt. Businesses that optimize their pages so that they appear near the top of Google results will have to "pay more attention to the suggestions offered by Google" that now pop up instantly as you type, Sullivan says. Annie Cushing, director of search services for BlueGlass Interactive, a Tampa-based firm that helps businesses surface in Google search results, says the changes create opportunities for tech-savvy firms. "The ones who can adapt the fastest are going to thrive," she says. "Now, instead of looking just at what keywords pop up in results, letters and even syllables will rank as well." Google also said it passed a major milestone recently: It now has 1 billion users per week. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more