Yahoo launches AI search tool ‘Scout’ to take on Google and Perplexity

Yahoo has launched an AI-powered search feature called Yahoo Scout, marking the company’s formal entry into the fast-growing AI search market dominated by Google, Perplexity and ChatGPT.

Announced on Tuesday, Scout is positioned as an “answer engine” that uses natural language queries to deliver concise responses rather than traditional lists of links. Yahoo said the tool draws on information from the open web, its own content ecosystem and user data to generate responses.

The company said Scout is informed by hundreds of millions of user profiles and a large-scale knowledge graph, allowing it to assist with tasks such as tracking weather conditions, following sports events, monitoring stock movements, comparing products and fact-checking news stories.

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Yahoo has partnered with AI startup Anthropic to use the Claude model as Scout’s primary foundation model. It is also using Microsoft’s Bing grounding API to ensure responses are supported by authoritative sources from the open web.

The feature includes tools for shopping and finance. Yahoo said Scout can summarise expert reviews to help users compare products, while Yahoo Finance integration offers quick access to company news, analyst ratings, financial data and earnings information that refresh frequently.

Scout is currently available in the United States through Scout.Yahoo.com and the Yahoo Search app on iOS and Android. Yahoo said the feature can reach nearly 250 million users in the US, with plans to expand functionality and personalisation over time.

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