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Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?

#221

Post by handfuloflight »

ethbr1 wrote: post #172
ptmcc wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If LLMs aren't already doing this, they certainly will soon. And it'll be even more insidious and "invisible" than sponsored search results.

This is the biggest argument in favor of subscription-based funding models for search I've heard. (Kagi et al.) Ad-sponsored models are going to be dead as soon as people realize they can't trust output. And because the entire benefit to LLM search is the convenience of removing a human-in-the-loop step (scanning the search results), there won't be a clear insertion/distinction point for ads without poisoning the ent…

What if the advertiser's product or service is objectively (according to either a prompt defined by the user or by the UI operator, transparently provided) the answer to the query?

Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?

#222

Post by sakopov »

Yes, all the time. I use ChatGPT to help me get a general sense of direction when I'm learning something new. Once I have a few potential paths to explore, I combine regular Google searches with ChatGPT prompts to make sure my understanding aligns with reality.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?

#223

Post by jillesvangurp »

agentultra wrote: post #72

Yes. Why would I use AI to find information?

Because AIs can be faster and more exhaustive than you'll ever be. It's really good at those needle in the haystack type searches that would take ages doing manually.

You don't want AIs reproducing information necessarily. But they are really great at interpreting your query, digging out the best links and references using a search engine and then coming up with an answer complete with links that back that up.

I'd suggest just giving perplexity a spin for a few days. Just go nuts with it; don't hold back. It's one of the better AI driven search tools I've seen.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?

#224

Post by skydhash »

ethbr1 wrote: post #180
eddd-ddde wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's just a different kind of data. Even without LLMs, sometimes I want a tutorial, sometimes I want the raw API specification. For some cases I absolutely prefer an LLM, like discoverability of certain language features or toolkits. But for the details, I'll just google the documentation site (for the new terms that the LLM just taught me about) and then read the actual docs.

Search is best viewed as a black box to transform {user intention} into {desired information}. I'm hard pressed to construction an argument where, with widely-accessible LLM/LAM technology, that still looks like: 1. User types in query 2. Search returns hits 3. User selects a hit 4. User looks for information in hit 5. User has information Summarization and deep-indexing are too powerful and remove the necessity of s…

I don't know the exact word for this case, but sometimes you want the surrounding information to what you're looking for. Often I skim documentations, books, articles,... not in search for a specific answer but to get the overview of what it discusses. I don't need a summary of a table of contents. But it's a very good tool for quickly locating some specific information. Something like

  Language Implementation Patterns (the book) |> Analyzing Languages (the part) |> Tracking and Identifying Program Symbols (the chapter) |> Resolving Symbols (the section)
or

  Unit Testing: Principles, Practices,and Patterns (the book) |> Making your tests work for you (the part) |> Mocks and test fragility (the chapter) |> The relationship between mocks and test fragility (the section) |> Intra-system vs. inter-system communications
or

  Python 3.13.3 Documentation (docs.python.org) |> The Python Standard Library |> Text Processing Services |> string

Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?

#225

Post by llm_nerd »

jay_kyburz wrote: post #157
afpx wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, often unreliable. And, they will give different answers at different times. https://chatgpt.com/share/67f57459-2744-8009-a94e-3b67dce8fd... “[Jeeps] often score below average in reliability rankings from sources like Consumer Reports and J.D. Power.”

I tried the trick of asking Gemini to search the web. It respond by telling me Jeep was "average". When I checked the Consumer reports website it gave me, It scores Jeep 19th out of 22. I don't call that average.

Which Gemini? I asked 2.5 Pro and this was the result-

https://g.co/gemini/share/b5e5ea80548b

Seems entirely reasonable to me. Didn't have to trick it into providing citations.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?

#226

Post by llm_nerd »

Almost always use search-augmented LLMs now, to infinitely better results. Whether I'm wondering about a movie or looking for information on a programming language feature, or even specifics about niche things, an LLM gets me there much quicker.

Earlier today I was trying to remember the name of the lizard someone tweeted about seeing in a variety store. Google search yielded nothing. Gemini immediately gave me precise details of what I was talking about, it linked to web resources about it.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?

#228

Post by oofbey »

red-iron-pine wrote: post #197
deadbabe wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We’re currently in the golden age of LLMs as search engines. Eventually they’ll subtly push products and recommendations in their output to steer you toward specific things.

by "eventually" they mean "at this rate, mid-next year, if not already"

No - they are all competing for eyeballs right now. They need to solidify their positions in terms of user habits and behaviors before they start pissing people off.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?

#229

Post by coldtea »

wavemode wrote: post #69

Search is primarily a portal - you know a particular resource exists, you just don't know its exact URL. You hear about this new programming language called "Frob", and you assume it must have a website. So you google "Frob language". You hear that there was a plane crash in DC, and assume (CNN/AP/your_favorite_news_site) has almost certainly written an article about it. You google "DC plane crash." LLMs aren't ever…

>LLMs aren't ever going to replace search for that use case, simply because they're never going to be as convenient.

Sounds trivial to integrate an LLM front end with a search engine backend (probably already done), and be able to type "frob language" and it gives you a curated clickable list of the top resources (language website, official tutorial, reference guide, etc) discarding spam and irrelevant search engine results in the process.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?

#230

Post by II2II »

HellDunkel wrote: post #144
deadbabe wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We’re currently in the golden age of LLMs as search engines. Eventually they’ll subtly push products and recommendations in their output to steer you toward specific things.

You mean like the golden age of speech recognition a couple of years ago when they claimed 80% of computer interfacing will be voice only?

Or it could be more like the golden age of search engines. It's hard to tell which way it will go because LLMs are a new technology. Some people see only its strengths. Some focus upon its weaknesses. What matters though is the long run, when we get over our initial reactions.
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