Autonomy's approach is to attempt to assess the meaning of search queries, rather than relying on keywords. As well as producing results which should, in theory, be highly relevant, it also helps Autonomy to categorise queries. Content providers can then get access to user profiles based on requests so that, for example, an e-commerce site could automatically attach links to products based on inferences about each specific customer. For end users, categorisation can be equally useful. In February, Autonomy demonstrated technology that could help filter the flood of information that will come through to next-generation phones.
Autonomy is unusual in a number of respects.
Many customers, such as the BBC, BSkyB, Macmillan and News Corporation, work in the area of information handling. Autonomy grew out of Neurodynamics, which was itself formed in 1991, to capitalise on research into neural networks and pattern matching algorithms. It is a rare example of a commercially successful company built in the UK on the basis of academic research. Autonomy is actually a one-product company, although that product is presented in a number of different ways and is capable of being customised extensively to reflect different companies' needs. While this seems similar to what is done by numerous search engines, a major difference in Autonomy's approach is that concepts and context become significant and specific words or phrases become unimportant.