Whatever Happened to Google Search?

https://archive.ph/90akO

I am less annoyed by the ad placement (which has always been an issue) and more by the (more recent) nagging suspicion that Google's PMs, whenever forced to choose between being a Search Engine and being a Question Answering Service, opt hard for the latter.

Google Search's drop in quality has been well-documented here. I notice for the first time that the mainstream media are seeing it too.

The Freakonomics Radio podcast ran an episode on the question this past November:

"It used to feel like magic. Now it can feel like a set of cheap tricks. Is the problem with Google — or with us?"

<https://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-google-getting-worse/>

(Both audio and transcript at the link.)

It's been SEO gamed to death. They're trying to fight back with the Helpful Content Update, but it may be too little too late. The rise of AI writers is only making things worse. It's a shame.