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Google changes its search box

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Re: Google changes its search box

#731

Post by gblargg »

ekidd wrote: post #65
simonw wrote: post #10

Nilay Patel has been talking about "Google Zero" - the moment when Google effectively stops sending any traffic to other sites - for a few years now: https://www.theverge.com/24167865/google-zero-search-crash-h...

Which as some running a website raises a fascinating question. If Google is just going to crawl my sites and present information as an AI summary on their site, then what exactly do I gain by allowing Googlebot to crawl my sites?

> then what exactly do I gain by allowing Googlebot to crawl my sites?

Making the information available that you put up your site for?

Re: Google changes its search box

#732

Post by zarzavat »

RyanOD wrote: post #94
zarzavat wrote: post #13

I haven't used Google search for years. It's almost totally irrelevant at this point and existing on pure inertia. I'm aware that most people still use it, but it's nothing like the glory days when Google was far ahead of the pack.

How can you say Google search is "totally irrelevant" and follow that with "I'm aware that most people still use it"?

When Google search first appeared it was miles ahead of the pack. There was no alternative worth using. They had a true monopoly insofar as nobody was able to compete.

Nowadays, if Google Search were to disappear, I would hardly notice. That would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. The alternatives to Google got better, and Google itself got a lot worse.

They still have the numbers but they don't have the product anymore and they're just juicing it until the end.

Re: Google changes its search box

#733

Post by stck »

jcattle wrote: post #705
stck wrote: post #679

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LLM agent is the new browser. We had internet before we had browsers, then the browser took over as the main method of consuming the internet. It has a lot of problems and e.g. mobile apps are trying to fill the void, but they have their own problems. Next stage is the personal assistant agent, which will be the single entry point to the internet.

So when will you stop visiting HN?

Probably after the Algorithm adds its own custom tailored preference weighing to the HN submissions and meaningfully summarizes the discussion.

Re: Google changes its search box

#735

Post by BrunoBernardino »

expedition32 wrote: post #101

The entire internet as I knew it is over. Everything trips Cloudflare and capcha's because of tech bros and their AI crusade. But at least I've experienced the golden age. I feel bad for all the kids who will never know what once was.

There are options [1] [2], they're just not as easy to find, don't give up hope!

[1]: https://alternativeto.net/software/google-search/?license=fr...

[2]: https://alternativeto.net/software/google-search/?license=co...

Re: Google changes its search box

#736

Post by hansmayer »

try-working wrote: post #440
ekidd wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which as some running a website raises a fascinating question. If Google is just going to crawl my sites and present information as an AI summary on their site, then what exactly do I gain by allowing Googlebot to crawl my sites?

That's Google making way for its disruptor. We'll see who that is. Imagine a search engine that just presents search results. Groundbreaking.

It was exactly my opinion after thinking about this for a while. This is essentially Google making their search engine into yet another website. Sure, there is certain inertia - people used to using Google - but it will fade out with new generations. They've shot themselves in the foot, they just don't see it yet, and it will take some time for it to become obvious.

Re: Google changes its search box

#737

Post by specproc »

soco wrote: post #701
acron0 wrote: post #668

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My partner recently bought a receipe book that was probably 100% slop, from the recipes themselvea to the images for each dish.

Completely unrelated to AI, I buy and always bought recipe books in second hand bookstores. It has this vintage vibe, and not everything has to be kale. Downside is that some ingredients aren't easily reachable, but it doesn't happen that often.

Totally related to AI. You're gonna be able to spot slop whilst browsing.

Local bookshops are great, use them or lose them.

Re: Google changes its search box

#738

Post by acatton »

RealCodingOtaku wrote: post #724

Most of all websites will lose their traffic, some already did. - People using the search console see the drop - Product owners scratch their head - Investors backing out because not having many visitors - Small bloggers adding more ads because their revenue is dropping - Sponsors backing out from their blogs because it's loosing more visitors - Small web crumbling - People google what is happening - Google says 'The…

Don't worry about the small web. Most people running the small web don't do it for others but themselves. They don't care whether they have 5 visitors or 1 million. Visitors are just the cherry on top, my main reason for maintaining a small web page is to put down my thoughts, organize them, go back to them if I need to, and helping whichever stranger stumbles upon them along the way.

The small web and indie web audience doesn't use google. They use RSS readers:

https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/05/rss-feeds-send-me-more-traf...

https://matduggan.com/you-can-absolutely-have-an-rss-depende...

Small web is there to stay, big tech can't do much about it:

https://www.citationneeded.news/we-can-have-a-different-web/

The only threats to small web are:

* the lack of net neutrality

* lack of competition in the the PC component industry which is the backbone of cheap VPSes and hosting services

* browser monopoly, as any monopolistic browser could impose their small-web-unfriendly version of the web

Re: Google changes its search box

#739

Post by johneth »

nostrademons wrote: post #43
imoverclocked wrote: post #37

I don't trust facts from LLMs. When I am searching for something, I usually want to find primary sources. As soon as a number is involved, I do my best to not even look at the AI output. Even though the result is often good and combines information from multiple sources, it can also get things wrong by combining information from different eras or just plain outdated advice. AFAICT, without primary sources, the result…

You can ask them to cite their sources. It's very good practice to do so, and to check those sources, because I've found that about 30-40% of the time their source doesn't support their answer at all.

A lot of the time they hallucinate the sources, too.

Re: Google changes its search box

#740

Post by 1718627440 »

prinny_ wrote: post #263
kxrm wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Without google crawling your site, you don't get any new traffic. But with google crawling your site, you also might not get any traffic. I may be strange and unusual, but I just have never cared about my Google ranking. I know this makes me out of the ordinary among site owners but I have been humming along fine. This certainly will disrupt traffic but for some of my sites I honestly think this is a good thing. I…

Only issue is what happens when the company that owns the search and has a dominant share of the browser market flags your site with the good old "warning: potential risk ahead" when people try to reach it directly? And buries the "I know the risk let me through" deep in the browser settings. Advocate for different browsers? Google is pushing web attestation in one form or the other. I wish the future would look blea…

> flags your site with the good old "warning: potential risk ahead"

They are already training people to click these away.

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