Search head Satya Nadella, in a memo about the (ahem) Google killer Kumo, also wrote that half of queries are about searchers returning to previous tasks and 46 percent of search sessions are longer than 20 minutes. “These and many other learnings suggest that customers often don’t find what they need from search today.”

What is he searching for? A way to pump up the troops to use the company’s new search engine? I never have searches that long or find it that difficult to find things, if indeed they exist.

The company has asked employees to test, internally, Kumo, which is supposed to be the long anticipated upgrade to the Live Search. But does Microsoft really think that it can work on the edges and take Google on? If the company plans to truly overtake the search giant, it needs to be either radical or buy Yahoo’s search.

UPDATE: Microsoft tells Silicon Alley that “The data shows exactly what the memo says. These are the raw search logs. It’s not focus group data, it’s look at actual queries that come in.”

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The answers will appear at the top of users’ search results, so the most relevant info will appear first, e.g.:

• Encyclopedia Search for an encyclopedic fact, like “How tall is mount Everest,” “When was Lincoln born,” “What is the GDP of Poland,” “What’s the population of Georgia,” “Who won super bowl 30,” or “ What won best picture in 1998.” You ask, and Live Search will return the exact answer to your question. And for you trivia fans, they are: “8,850 m / 29,035 ft,” “February 12, 1809,” “$303,228,550,000 (2005),” “4,630,841 (2008 estimate),” “Dallas Cowboys, NFC,” and “Shakespeare in Love.”
• Traffic Just type “traffic” in the search box at Live Search and see a map of your area with green, yellow, red, and black highlights for the major highways. WOOHOO! Live Search won’t make the traffic go away, but at least it can tell you when it’s time to stay late and work on those TPS reports so you won’t waste time idling in the fast lane.
• Horoscope Just type “horoscope” and your zodiac sign to get your daily dose of direction. I guess I need to “take my situation step by step and before I know it my problem will be solved.”

Additional updates should go live soon, making search advertisers’ jobs just a wee bit easier.