TechCrunch is reporting a potential change in Apple’s search algorithm in the App Store that could be a significant boost for apps with high reviews and downloads and a problem for apps with names tailored to “play” the App Store’s search feature. In short, it seems that the technology that Apple inherited when it acquired app search discovery startup, Chomp, may be being put into play.

The news comes with some possible explanations from TC sources including a developer of a parking app, BestParking and Matthäus Krzykowski from app search company Xyologic. Ben Sann, founder of BestParking, has noticed that the app has jumped to the top of various searches that previously used to bring up matches that were closer to the search term (like “chicago parking” or “dc parking”). Instead of those localized terms bringing up apps with titles that match closely with those the search, the App Store seems to be focusing more on what the apps actually do. Krzykowski believes Apple has gotten better at “topic detection,” displaying apps that match more with what the apps’ functions are instead of their names.

Chomp‘s description of its technology is “Chomp’s proprietary algorithm learns the functions and topics of apps, so you can search based on what apps do, not just what they’re called.” It seems that this may be exactly the difference we’re seeing in the search results. Check out the TechCrunch article for more details.

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