Apparently a research study done on the effectiveness of autocomplete and auto suggestions in a library website shows that people do use it. To quote the research article
The study’s findings were consistent across both rounds of usability
testing. Notable themes include using autocomplete to correct spelling
on known-item searches (specific titles, authors, etc.), to build
student confidence with an unfamiliar topic, to speed up the search
process, to focus broad searches, and to augment search-term
vocabulary. The study also details important student perceptions about
autocomplete that can guide the implementation process in both library
systems and instructional scenarios. These student perceptions include
themes of autocomplete’s popularity, desire for local resource
suggestions, various cosmetic page changes, and user perception of the
value of autocomplete to their peers.
The article also states that autocomplete had the maximum value in these factors
- Checking the spelling : As per the article, users often relied on autocomplete to check the spelling and to ensure they were on the right track. To quote the article
Correcting search-term spelling is a key way in which students chose
to make use of the autocomplete feature. For known-item searches, all
eight students in the second round of testing selected suggestions
from auto-complete at least two times out of the three searches
conducted. Of those eight students, four (50 percent) used
auto-complete every time (three out of three opportunities), and four
(50 percent) used it 67 percent of the time (two out of three
opportunities). We found that of this latter group who only selected
auto-complete suggestions two out of the three opportunities
presented, three of them did in fact refer to the dropdown selections
when typing their inquiries, but did not actively select these
suggestions from the dropdown all three times.
In choosing to use
autocomplete for spelling correction, one student noted that
autocomplete was helpful “if you have an idea of a word but not how
it’s spelled.
- Locating known items : The study also states that autocomplete was significant when users knew what they were searching for but had a partial recollection of the item. To quote the article
Another significant use of the autocomplete feature was in cases where
students were looking for a specific item but had only a partial
citation. In one case, a student used autocomplete to find a specific
course text by typing in the general topic (e.g., “Africa”) and then
an author’s name that the course instructor had recommended. The
Google implementation did an excellent job of combining these pieces
of information into a list of actual book titles from which to choose.
This finding also echoes those of White and Marchioni, who note that
autocomplete “improved the quality of initial queries for both known
item and exploratory tasks.
- Speed : As expected speed was another significant factor which was emphasized on by the users in the study. To quote the article
The study also showed that speed is a factor in deciding when to use
autocomplete functionality. Specifically, autocomplete should be
implemented in a way in which they are not perceived as slowing down
the search process. This includes having results displayed in a way
that is easily ignored if students want to type in an entire search
phrase themselves, and having the presentation and selection of search
suggestions done in a way that is easy to read and quick to be
selected. Autocomplete is perceived as a time-saver when clicking on
an item will shorten the amount of typing students need to do.
However, some students will ignore autocomplete altogether; they do
this when they know what they want, and they feel that speed is
compromised if they need to stop and look at the suggestions when they
already know what they want to search. In the study, different
participants would often cite speed as a reason for both selecting and
not selecting an item for the same question, particularly with the
known-item searches
- Confidence: Confidence that the topic existed was another reason for people using autocomplete
“[Autocomplete is] an assurance that it [the research topic] is out there . . . you’re not the first person to look for it.”—student
participant
There were multiple themes related to the concept of user confidence
discovered in the study. First, some participants noted that when they
see the suggestions provided by autocomplete it verifies that what
they are searching is “real”—validating their research idea and giving
them the sense that others have been successful previously searching
for their topic
Hence though this is a case of a study done for a specific audience, it can very well be applied to other user bases where people are researching for content and are using the search to find it.
F-I-S-H-I-Nit's going to suggestFISHINGanyway, so users might just click that instead of typing the lastG. That way it's hard to quantify whether it's autosuggest that's working and suggesting something or whether it's just working as an autocomplete instead.