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bkornblith t1_j1cohva wrote

Google’s main product (search) has gotten meaningfully worse for the last decade… it’s now so filled with ads and garbage that it’s almost functionally useless. This isn’t even about ChatGPT… this is about Google failing to make their product work for anyone other than advertisers.

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nicuramar t1_j1d1yy9 wrote

> it’s now so filled with ads and garbage that it’s almost functionally useless.

I think that's a huge exaggeration. I use it several times each day, and mostly find what I look for. Ad supported search results are at the top and marked as such.

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Successful_Speech439 t1_j1dcr06 wrote

Which is annoying, I shouldn’t have to scroll halfway down the page to get my actual search results

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not_a_conman t1_j1ea90e wrote

And then half the non-ad results are some garbage AI generated article that doesn’t actually answer your question. That’s why I usually end up on Reddit for answers one way or another. I do usually search Reddit results through Google though… so I guess that’s helpful?

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maru11 t1_j1efncf wrote

Or one of the 200 Sites that are just a scam clone of Stackoverflow Q&As

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misterclay t1_j1dr6xe wrote

lol, imagine complaining about having to use your mouse wheel for half a second

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cyrusm t1_j1ddads wrote

Then use an alternative service.

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Successful_Speech439 t1_j1decon wrote

I do 😂 fuck Google. It’s a last resort when I absolutely can’t find what I’m looking for.

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mav3r1ck92691 t1_j1eacwa wrote

If it's your go-to "last resort when you can't find what your looking for," wouldn't that make it better than what you are using? It finds the answer when your "usual" source cannot?

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Successful_Speech439 t1_j1eg1xq wrote

Nah, just means what I’m looking for is so obscure, almost no one bothered making a web page for.

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Thehibernator t1_j1f4gnk wrote

So google is finding the obscure thing with relative ease vs it's competitors?

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Successful_Speech439 t1_j1f5nxr wrote

Honestly no and you Google shills are fuckin obnoxious

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Thehibernator t1_j1f5z2z wrote

It’s not even my preferred search engine but what you said made no sense, just sayin

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NataliaKennedy t1_j1d1kdi wrote

I put reddit or quora after everything I search to avoid the stupid blog posts that come up

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bkornblith t1_j1d2twd wrote

I can find better information using Reddit or other websites at least half the time because of how terrible Google results are at this point.

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Spaceman-Spiff t1_j1dojzr wrote

But reddits search feature is horrible.

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tidder_mac t1_j1drvlq wrote

Gotta Google what you’re looking into, because Google does still have an amazing underlying product.

But to filter out all the bullshit that Google now prioritizes to make money for themselves, you should include the site you want. “Reddit” in this case.

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Sycosplat t1_j1dyfey wrote

Yup, normal results (below the bunch of sponsored ads) are just filled with results leading to "review" websites and blogs listing the 10 best types of whatever you are searching for, but then it's just affiliate marketing crap, where each review reading like it was written by a marketing team.

The only way to get what feels like a genuine opinion is to put in "reddit" so you can at least attempt to find a real answer and not just trying to sell to you.

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macrofinite t1_j1dqinm wrote

I think it says a lot that if you’re looking for something that physically exists, searching in google maps is almost always better than regular search.

Images became utterly useless like 10 years ago when it became completely infected with Pinterest posts that can’t be saved or viewed without logging into that cancer website. Bing image search is just objectively better.

And in regular search you have to scroll basically to the bottom of the first page find the first “legitimate” search result anymore.

Google is pretty garbage. Except maps. But I’m sure they’ll find a way to ruin that too soon enough.

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strawberrymacaroni t1_j1ef6dj wrote

SEO has also managed to make the things you search for worse… for example, I was looking up a recipe and because they are all search optimized, you have to scroll all over the page before you can find the actual recipe, it’s so annoying, I just want to click on the link and see the recipe, not a 2000 word poorly written essay about how these are the gooiest, fudgiest, most chocolatey brownies straight from my grandmother’s recipe book.

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bkornblith t1_j1efmv5 wrote

True - the knock on effects of all this are quite horrible all around

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ThinBlueLinebacker t1_j1esb8j wrote

Seems as if every food recipe blog writer goes to the same awful conference where they learn how to write like an annoying moron.

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bigkoi t1_j1cqv7j wrote

It's also made a lot of money.

Unclear how chatgpt makes money. It uses data a year+ old which is mostly useless and considered stale data by marketing.

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stockist420 t1_j1cv47x wrote

Have you used it? I gave it a bunch of items and said i want cook something with it. It gave me like 6 recipes explained in detail. Haven’t used google in last 4 days. Now I first try it on gpt and then go to google. Shorting google stock for me is a no brainer

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bkornblith t1_j1cwn5b wrote

I wouldn’t remotely go as far as shorting google stock….

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CardioKillsYourGains t1_j1d3btk wrote

I would. Google has been poorly managed for the last decade.

They create a product, it does well. Then they kill it, only to replace it with two products that do the exact same thing but worse. Then once people start using it again, they rename it no less than three times, before merging the functionality into a different app. Then they just delete that feature for no reason in an update.

The cycle repeats.

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bkornblith t1_j1d6zuy wrote

Msft has done way better and Google has made a lot of mistakes, but I wouldn’t count Google out. Betting against a company with almost limitless capital at a moment when capital is very expensive feels like a bad bet at this moment.

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Alberiman t1_j1ect1o wrote

The problem with limitless capital is it's a lot like being an emperor with a massive army, it gives you an unrivaled level of confidence that whatever you choose to do is the correct decision because you never feel the consequences in any meaningful way

then one day you wake up and the peasants are inside the castle walls and calling your name

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bkornblith t1_j1edca4 wrote

Oh definitely - I just don’t think we’re near that day yet…. Not to say it won’t come

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stockist420 t1_j1d6aco wrote

This. Nearly 90 % of their revenue is from advertising, bulk from google search engine. What is the upside anyway in the current high rate environment? What is the downside- plenty

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bigkoi t1_j1cve6m wrote

Dude. My wife asks the Google home in the kitchen and gets recipes right in the kitchen.

Give a better example.

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Blue-Phoenix23 t1_j1dd2q6 wrote

As an aside, I was really surprised when I got a Google WiFi setup how good the chat function is. I didn't buy it for that purpose and didn't think I would use it but it's pretty neat.

I continue to be dumbfounded how Apple, MS, Amazon etc have basically ceded the smart home space to Google.

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bigkoi t1_j1djqse wrote

Agreed. Out of all the tech companies they have the best assistant which was key to the smart home.

However, 4 years ago Google demoed Lambda scheduling an appointment with an unsuspecting human. It was amazing. I have to believe Google has the tech in Lambda when they are ready to make it public in an assistant.

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mintardent t1_j1eo94d wrote

the google scheduling thing is definitely rolled out. If I want to make a reservation somewhere that I have to call in, the google website it gives me the option to have assistant make the call.

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bigkoi t1_j1eod4e wrote

Really? I'll have to look into that.

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mintardent t1_j1erh7n wrote

yeah. I don’t think they’re super clear about what’s happening, because I also remember that demo years ago and I didn’t realize it was actually implemented until recently. I think, for example for a restaurant, there’s an option called “reserve a table” or something like that and the assistant makes a call for you. you just have to select a date and time range you’re comfortable with.

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paxfuturus t1_j1d5zwn wrote

While it is true that traditional search engines can provide quick and simple answers to cooking queries, ChatGTP offers much more advanced capabilities. For example, ChatGTP can understand and respond to more complex and nuanced requests, such as asking for recipe variations or substitutions. It can also engage in more in-depth conversations, providing detailed explanations and recommendations based on user preferences and dietary restrictions. Additionally, ChatGTP can learn and adapt over time, becoming more efficient and personalized in its responses. These features make ChatGTP a superior choice for those seeking more than just basic recipe information.

P.s. that was AI generated by ChatGTP as a custom response to your criticism. One thing I'll note though is that it is also way better at delivering recipes than Google is. No offense.

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bigkoi t1_j1d893o wrote

Understood. The point is it's not difficult for Google to pivot here as Google has the share of endpoints for an assistant. Google obviously has the technology with Lambda.

Here is the difference between Open AI and Google. Open AI can afford to have bad responses and potential racist responses being generated. Google can not. I would imagine Google is busy tuning out all the potential brand damaging responses prior to unleashing it's Lambda capabilities into their assistant.

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paxfuturus t1_j1d9r2s wrote

The issue of racism is overstated for OpenAI and understated for Google. Those are absolutely problems that have to be considered, but Google has been doing that for decades and they're still dealing with people getting radicalized on YouTube. If anything its less likely on OpenAI because it's conversationally intuitive.

The big difference is that OpenAI is giving actual AI access to users in a much more tangible way, and also in a way that provides superior a search experience to Google for tons of applications. That's why Google is freaking out, they've been focused on profiteering in search and not service and it really shows. As innovative as Google likes to portray themselves as being, they are an old established player and a monopoly which is why we haven't seen this kind of innovation sooner even though it's been possible for quite some time. Monopolies stifle innovation and competition, that's why we have antitrust laws.

On a philosophical note, OpenAI's focus on research and development of advanced AI technologies sets it apart from Google, which primarily uses AI for financially expedient applications. Google is not a social enterprise. And even though OpenAI isn't non-profit anymore, they are profit capped. All that allows OpenAI to push the boundaries of what is possible with artificial intelligence and contribute to the field in a meaningful way. Being a newer company also allows for greater flexibility and agility in adapting to new developments and technologies in the field.

I use Google Pixel by the way, and have used every Google phone and I have a Chromebook tablet, Nest ecosystem etc.. It's not that I don't appreciate their products.

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MacDegger t1_j1dztr3 wrote

I don't you realise that google has been an ai company since more than half a decade at the very least, paid for by adwords.

And comparing the age of OpenAi and Google? Not just irrelevant but ... it is also 7 years old and founded by amongst others Elon Musk.

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red8reader t1_j1ete02 wrote

Have you used other search engines?

To say they have failed is a stretch, a very long stretch. The reality is that Google has a hard time staying in front of the SEO industry, which manipulates SERPs.

Google also mixes in NLP while most if not all others are still using simple keywords.

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anotherbozo t1_j1fb61d wrote

Google lost most of its value a few years ago when it started ranking corporate-owned content power houses higher.

That resulted in companies doing shitloads of SEO to rank higher so they can use it for more sales.

It slowly drew hobbyist content creators and bloggers, who are generally more enthusiastic about what they are writing, away.

If you want travel tips now, you're more likely to find tips from the blog of a website that sells hotels, rentals, flights, etc... written by a nameless author; rather than someone who is enthusiastically writing from their own experience.

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