Two distinct paradigms of AJAX use have emerged in the last few years of AJAX innovation. At one end of the spectrum, we see vast use of AJAX for enriching Web pages - adding some interactive features on top of the basic model of an HTML Web page. At the other end of the spectrum we've seen a growing set of solutions that rival the features and functionality of desktop software - full AJAX software applications.

Figure 1 and Figure 2 provide examples of both models in use at a couple of the biggest brands on the Internet, Google and Yahoo. Google Suggest is an example of using AJAX on a Web page to slightly enrich the experience of a standard Web page. Google's FAQ document says "Just as E.T. needs to phone home in order to get a spaceship to pick him up, Google Suggest needs to talk to Google while you type in order to offer suggestions to you."