"Today, people are frustrated when a digital assistant says, 'Sorry, I couldn't understand that,'" said Mr. Chapman, who was named CEO of the venture-capital-backed startup this week after about five years as director of engineering for Amazon.com Quantum computers "could alleviate those problems," he said. That's because quantum computers have the potential to sort through a vast number of possibilities within a fraction of a second to come up with a probable solution. A Rubik's Cube, in an analogy to illustrate the power of quantum computers, could be solved instantaneously because the technology can process different combinations at once. A classical computer, by contrast, would need to search through the possibilities sequentially, which could take days, months or even longer, IonQ executives said.

It's technology available today already being applied to search engines. Leading visionaries in search technology, including Google's Beshad Behzadi in his keynote speech at the SMX West Keynote to Satya Nadella at Microsoft's Build conference, are articulating a vision of smarter and more capable personalized help that will drive efficiency, focus and ultimately, happiness. Nadella believes the next big bet for Microsoft is "conversation as a platform." This is a more intuitive and accessible canvass integrating into apps, as well as artificial intelligence (A.I.) and bots that can interact with other bots. While the devices and technology used to access search are evolving, search will still be an increasingly integral part of everyday life.