Microsoft Bing says it’s about to start rolling out a new feature called Adaptive Search that will take users’ search history into account to determine which results it shows when the intent of the query isn’t clear.

In a blog post announcing the feature, the company cites the example of a search for Australia. Based on the user’s search history, Bing would be able to figure out whether the person is planning a trip or looking for the movie of that name, and return results based on that assumption.

The privacy implications: Microsoft says Bing collects search history for users by default for 28 days if they’re not signed in, or 18 months if they are signed in using a Windows Live ID. Users can choose to turn off the search history in the Bing settings. More info in this Microsoft help page.

Search Engine Land notes that it seems similar to a Google feature called previous query.

In other search news, Google this week launched an updated flight search portal based on technology picked up in its acquisition of ITA Software.

Numbers from comScore Networks this week showed Microsoft and Yahoo continuing to chip away at Google’s lead in the U.S. search market, with the search giant slipping below 65 percent of search queries in August.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.