I use searxng
I really like searxng. I self host an instance for some friends.
Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?
81–90 of 609 posts
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?
#82I use search the same as I did before LLMs. I don't find ChatGPT to be useful for finding information. I do use Claude extensively for writing code and explaining errors via Github Copilot in VSCode, but I still primarily use Google.
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?
#83I have Gemini results in my Google searches. They're "good enough" that I rarely venture to LLMs.
When I do, it's because either I can't think of good terms to use, and the LLM helps me figure out what I'm looking for, or I want to keep asking follow-up questions.
Even then, I probably use an LLM every other week at most.
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?
#84Yes, I'm still using Google as I haven't found LLMs useful as a search engine replacement.
but the AI responses from google that dominate the screen real estate are terrible. When you repeat the exact same query and get changing (but all wrong) answers, something is broken. I've resorted to including profanity in all my searches to prevent the AI responses, which is suboptimal at work...
They work pretty well for me.
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?
#85If Google provided an option to disable AI search results, I'd happily turn it off.
I'd also happily turn off several other search features, more directly tied to revenue, which is probably why they don't like adding options. I'm sure their AI will be selling products soon enough. Got to make those billions spent back somehow.
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?
#86I find the regurgitated slop of ChatGPT to have an unsatisfactory signal to noise ratio + too much confident lies and so I prefer direct searches.
Gemini is similar.
I sometimes use phind and find myself jumping directly to the sources.
Consider paying for kagi.
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?
#87I have had a number of occasions where I had a vague query that I was sure an LLM would handle better than a search engine, and yet I ended up failing to get a result with the LLM and Google came to my rescue (their search engine, not their AI!)
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?
#88I have reduced my traditional search engine use by, I'd guess, 90%.
Having said that, I use ChatGPT exactly like a search engine. If I want to find info I will explicitly enable the web search mode and usually just read the sources, not the actual summary provided by the LLM.
Why do this? I find if I don't quite know the exact term I am looking for I can describe my problem/situation and let ChatGPT make the relevant searches on my behalf (and presumably also do some kind of embedding lookup).
This is particularly useful in new domains, e.g. I've been helping my wife do some legal research and I can explain my layman's understanding of a situation and ask for legal references, and sure enough it will produce cases and/or gov.uk sources that I can check. She has been impressed enough to buy a subscription.
I have also noticed that my years (decades!) of search engine skills have atrophied quicker than expected. I find myself typing into Google as I would to ChatGPT, in a much more human way, then catch myself and realise I can actually write much more tersely (and use, e.g. site:).
Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?
#89If Google provided an option to disable AI search results, I'd happily turn it off. I'd also happily turn off several other search features, more directly tied to revenue, which is probably why they don't like adding options. I'm sure their AI will be selling products soon enough. Got to make those billions spent back somehow.
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Re: Ask HN: Do you still use search engines?
#90I still use search engines. I do not like to be spoon fed. I want to learn from the real people. Not AI generated shit. ChatGPT or other LLMs are trained on old data, they do not contain newer information. Newer information and knowledge are produced by the real humans. LLMs are great for quick fact checking, but not for searching.
For example: What's the height of mount Everest? LLMs will most probably give right answer.
What are the specs for new Goolge Pixel 9a? LLM can't answer this may after a year they can.