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I actually like AI mode in Google. My main reason is if I just have a quick question it seems a lot quicker than logging into ChatGPT/Claude as I can just type it in the address bar. Of course DDG / others can do the exact same thing as they already have an AI mode. Maybe you can even set up ChatGPT as a search engine - not sure. The key for this use case is speed - it has to be nearly instant.
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Ads in Search make up a significant percentage of their revenue. It is also the gateway that gets people into the Google ecosystem. Ads make the money, but Search is still the consumer facing product that brings people to Google and keeps them there. It’s so ubiquitous people don’t even think about it or notice it anymore. I’m always surprised by how much people are still searching for stuff as we’ve moved from the o…
> but Search is still the consumer facing product that brings people to Google and keeps them there. And let's not forget, these are the same people that when searching for "eBay" will put an ad at the top of the results, linking to eBay, and then place eBay as the top search result. I've found it hilarious that every single search engine does the same thing. You can do it even in Apple's App Store too. (Not seeing t…
If you don't buy out the top-place for the query, someone else will. In a better case a competitor - imagine Facebook Marketplace being the top result for "ebay". In the worst - a phishing site. The latter happens quite often for software searches.
The same people who told you Google was going to zero three years ago because Search would become irrelevant are now telling you users will move away from Google because it’s removing Search. When will people learn that the quality of Google’s leadership is better than that of the average Joe on Hacker News or a random tech journalist writing clickbait articles?
But your 2nd paragraph is spot on.
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how is duckduckgo using us?
duck shoves AI results down my throat no matter how many times I say no. And they are getting more aggressive with their ads.
Wait, Duck Duck Go has some 50 million MAUs and that went to 65 million MAUs or so. Google has 5 billion MAUs, so some 15/5000 users went to Duck Duck Go. That doesn't seem damning. 99.97% of Google users didn't go to DDG.
My friends who previously had no interest in technology and never talked about it, are suddenly following tech news closely all because they hate AI being pushed so hard. One was just messaging me this morning about alternatives to Google search and maps. He ended up downloading DuckDuckGo. If Google isn’t carefully they’re going to push people away from their golden goose.
we have moments like this every few years (almost as frequent as crypto waves in recent memory), but they keep chugging along.
couple years back it was all about saying the GPTs have replaced search for people and how google is dead. now when they implement the same, it drives people away.
i can imagine how it can be difficult to be in their shoes, when any change is met with negativity. no surprise that the core interface has...had not changed all this time.
context: left to ddg almost a decade ago in a similar exodus wave.
I actually like AI mode in Google. My main reason is if I just have a quick question it seems a lot quicker than logging into ChatGPT/Claude as I can just type it in the address bar. Of course DDG / others can do the exact same thing as they already have an AI mode. Maybe you can even set up ChatGPT as a search engine - not sure. The key for this use case is speed - it has to be nearly instant.
It's difficult to put my finger on it, but there is something about Google's AI UX that I deeply dislike. It has nothing to do with the quality of the response, which seems fine, but... The header and input bars are too big. The max width of the response is too narrow. The font is too large. The way it renders onto the page feels weirdly clunky. There is a whole sidebar in addition to the top bar just for two buttons…
To be honest I use Google AI mode a lot. And Duckduckgo for private search. I default to DDG and use !g if I want to resign from privacy or find some merchandise to buy
You mean looking for merchandise is something you're fine being tracked and funneled into the product with the best SEO game?