Google Just Ruined Search

[struggle4progress]

Switch and Click
Jun 27, 2026

[RockRaven]

1. Google ruined search years before the AI crap. They intentionally degraded search result quality

to cause users to have to search more times to find what they were looking for. Why would they do that?

Because at that time they already had a virtual monopoly on search with like 90% of all users. How to "make number go up" when you cannot add more users because you've already got all users...?

By making each user search more times per thing that they want.

More searches = more ad views = more revenue. If you cannot add users because you have all the users on earth, then you must increase searches per user-search-need.

[Kali]

2. interesting

being basically a luddite, my only regular experiences are google and bing due to what comes on devices owned. agree with her that bing sucks and that is why I haven't been impressed with DU using duck duck go either.

[LeftInTX]

3. Informative

Although Google Image search has gone downhill, since they won't allow you to search people, I saw an image of a house in a crime forum. (There was a missing woman about five miles from me) Some guy was snooping at this house. The house they showed looked like it wasn't from that part of town because homes over there were built early 2000's etc.

On a whim, I uploaded the image to Google Image search. It turns out it was a duplex just down the road from me! Sure enough I recognized it right away!


I also had brought this unique sponge product at the automotive section at Walmart a few years ago. Product was real cheap. I wanted to buy a new one and Walmart didn't have it anymore. I had no idea what the product was even called. I had purchased it to remove hair from my sofa and it wasn't marketed for that. (I just saw this product and thought, "I bet if I rub that on my sofa, it will pick up hair)

So, I took a picture of it. Turns out it was called a tire applicator and Autozone had it.

However, to actually find the address of that generic looking 80's duplex was truly amazing. Out of all the houses in the entire world!

[douglas9]

4. Startpage

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startpage

[usonian]

5. I have been using duckduckgo.com

Sure, it inserts ads as "native" search results, and sometimes goes WAY off base.

Like, I'll be looking up some scientific term and almost always, the top results are recent movies.

So I send them flaming feedback. I just am pressed for time (that stew will be made tomorrow, not tonight) for trying others. Results are very similar to Bing.

DDG clears its logs daily. Google NEVER FORGETS anything you do or search, and sells the data or hands it to any government person who asks.

DuckDuckGo explicitly lets you reject AI results (some sneak through) for sites and images.

I have used startpage.com but found it clunky to use. An optional extra layer of obfuscation (someone else explain it)