Search and social have their distinctions but as technology develops and user’s online behaviour transforms, these differences will become more closely intertwined. I have looked at this relationship and some of the influencing factors. Surely the biggest bottleneck hindering technologies today is the ability to intrinsically interpret human behaviour. The recent Hummingbird update Google released is a step closer to understanding this trend of longer more complex search queries. This artificial intelligence is the key to improving the responsiveness of digital components. It is this advancement in technology that will provide a bedrock for the relationship’s development, more specifically the ability for a growing number of online channels to target a consumer whether it be in a social or search environment. Take the car company Ford, for example.  In ten years they see themselves as a devices and components company rather than an automotive company, which is pretty interesting! You can find out more about their ambition to move into the mobile market here. Their vision is to create fully automated cars that can cater for nearly all of the drivers’ needs by comprehensively interpreting and understanding the cars’ surroundings – sounds like the credentials of a best friend to me! With the support of developing technology, search schema and algorithms this is all possible.