Bing tests asking shoppers three questions to personalize results in its Shopping tab

Microsoft is testing a way to personalize shopping results on Bing by asking the user directly. People who open the Shopping tab see the message "Let's personalize your results," answer a series of questions and get a list of products tailored to those answers.

The test was reported by Search Engine Roundtable, in a post published on November 10 by Barry Schwartz, the site's executive editor. He says the feature was spotted by Sachin Patel, who covered it on Search Engine Watch.

Patel described how it works: "Bing is testing a personalized experience in the Shopping tab. When a user switches to the Shopping tab, Bing asks three questions. Once the user submits the answers, Bing shows results based on them."

Schwartz says he could not replicate the test and relies on Patel's screenshots, which show the questions followed by the personalized results. In his view, it is a pretty good way to customize and personalize search results for specific queries.

For brand managers and anyone selling online, the key takeaway is that in this test, the products shown in Bing's Shopping tab depend on the searcher's answers as well as on the query they typed. Because it is a test that not every user sees, there is no sign yet that the feature will roll out to everyone.