Apparently not, though they’re pushing it hard.
It’s no secret that major companies have been pushing AI hard. Whether or not users want the functionality, they’ve been shoveling it into products and websites.
Google recently added something called “AI Mode” to their search bar. They also announced some changes to AI search that made many wonder if AI mode will become the default and preferred search mechanism.
It’s… complicated.
AI and search
Right now, Google is not making AI Mode the default. However, Google and other sites are pushing AI hard. It’s important to understand the difference between AI chat, AI answers, ads, and real search results.
AI was already here: a regular Google search
Google has already been under fire for including AI-generated summaries in its search results.
Most searches now contain three sections.
AI summary. As with most AI, it’s unclear what Google bases this summary on, but it attempts to provide the answer to the question being asked or search being performed. The idea is that reading this section alone will satisfy the person searching for information.
Advertising. This has little to do with the actual search; it represents items that companies have paid Google for placement. In our example, there’s nothing that says these are the “best” coffee makers at all. They’re just advertisements for coffee makers or websites, many of which might be complete garbage; they just paid enough to be shown whenever anyone includes “coffee maker” in a search.
“Real” search results. Scrolling down under AI’s response and ads, we find the traditional search results most of us are looking for.
There are multiple issues with this state of search results. Two of the most obvious:
- The addition of the AI summary pushes actual search results further down the page. I had to zoom out to even show them in the image above; by default, they were not visible without scrolling down (which many people don’t bother to do).
- AI summaries are still often incorrect.
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AI mode
If we perform the same search in “AI mode”, we enter into a chat with Google’s AI1.
Once again, it’s unclear where the information comes from, but now the entire results page is AI-generated. There’s a summary and even a specific coffee-maker recommendation. This is followed by a list of top-rated coffee makers and concludes with a table comparing the listed models (not shown here). Google then asks a follow-up question to continue the chat: “To help narrow this down, how do you usually make your coffee—do you prefer a quick single cup from a pod, a full pot of drip coffee, or espresso drinks like lattes?”
Depending on your faith in AI, it’s not a bad experience. It’s worth noting, though, that Google displays the common disclaimer: “AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses”.
AI mode is not currently the default. It’s unclear if it ever will be, but we can’t rule it out. Why? Because of competition.
ChatGPT has entered the… chat
Many people now use ChatGPT and other AIs instead of search engines at all.
Much like Google’s AI mode, it’s not a bad experience, and it gives confident-sounding answers. Whether they’re accurate or not is unclear, though ChatGPT did not include the disclaimer about accuracy. It did, however, include links to the sources used, though once again at the end of the response, off the bottom of the screen.
Given that so many people are using alternative AI chatbots instead of search, it’s no surprise that Google would feature their own more prominently. After all, it’s the search interface most of us have used for years.
DuckDuckGo somewhere else
According to reports, use of the DuckDuckGo search engine saw a significant uptick after Google’s announcements relating to AI mode. In the face of Google’s apparent push to include more AI, people turned to alternatives that presumably wouldn’t do so otherwise.
I get it, as DuckDuckGo promotes itself as privacy-focused and giving the user greater control. And yet, I was disappointed by the results.
It included both an AI-generated summary and enough ads to push the “real” search results off the bottom of most people’s visible page.
Et tu, Kagi?
I pay for2 and use Kagi as my primary search engine. So I ran the query through it for comparison.
I was surprised to see a sizable AI-generated “Quick answer” at the top of the results. I was not expecting that.
But in Kagi’s setting, I found this:
It is interesting that my use of a question mark triggered AI mode. I tried without the question mark, and indeed, I got search results and nothing more. Exactly what I want most of the time.
Kagi redeemed itself.
Related
Why I’ve Stopped Using Google Search
Google search used to be the winner by far, but recent decreases in its trustworthiness and the improved offerings of other search engines make switching a pragmatic choice.#170290
A word about my examples
In my previous article and video about leaving Google Search, I got a lot of feedback that boiled down to “Well, you searched for coffee makers, why are you surprised that you got results about coffee makers?”
My concerns today are twofold.
AI results are interesting and perhaps helpful, but you still can’t blindly trust them. Unfortunately, most people see the AI-generated summary or answer and take it as a true, accurate answer without doing anything to confirm it. This is true for coffee makers and anything else you search for.
Advertisements are often misleading in two ways. First, they’re often disguised as or mistaken for traditional search results; many people don’t realize they’re ads. Second, they rarely relate directly to the question. In my examples above, I’m looking for the ‘best’ coffee maker. But the advertisements shown aren’t there because they’re best; they’re there because someone paid to display them. The coffee makers or linked pages referenced in the ads could be legit or could be complete garbage.
The future of Google search
So, is Google going to make AI mode the default?
Today, the answer is no. It’s an option you can select as you enter your search query or on a search results page.
Tomorrow? Who knows? It’s certainly possible, as competition in both the search and AI space forces Google to make competitive decisions.
All I can say is that this is a rapidly changing space.
Do this
The single most important thing is to understand the difference between:
- AI chats
- AI-generated results or summaries
- Ads
- Normal/traditional search results
Use them as you see fit, but understand the strengths and weaknesses of each.
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I just did a Google search for something. On top were ads, followed by the AI summary which was helpful in this case (it sometimes can be helpful).
“Sponsored products” title was prominent on the top of the page. Next came the ads. After the ads, came the AI summary but the search results were literally 4 screens down.
Duck Duck Go
On top were the well-labeled ads, next came the real search results which appear 3/4 the way down on the the first screen.
The AI called “Search assist” was in a small window to the right.
So far, I’ll stick with DDG which has been my main search engine for decades. I like it because it gives me what I ask for, not what they think I want.
Google started out as a search engine but has evolved into an advertising company. Google’s famous old motto “Don’t be evil.” has been replaced with suck as much money out as we can.
I liked this video, I really would have been interested to hear you thoughts on Startpage as a default search engine in terms of the quality of results returned. I’ve been using it for some time and find it just gets to the point.
Always appreciate other viewpoint!
StartPage is a privacy focused proxy for Google search. It uses Google to search, but it strips away all identifying information and gives you non-personalized results. It’s privacy focused as is Duck Duck Go, but you get the Google results without personalization or AI summaries. It’s based in the Netherlands, so you get the benefit of privacy protections the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) provides. GDPR might be a PITA sometimes (the idiotic cookie warnings), but it legally binds the company to strict data privacy standards that go beyond what US-based competitors like Google or even DuckDuckGo are required to follow.
I’m trying it out. It reminds me of Google’s results page 25 years ago.
It’s a fork from the old Scroogled. It’s likely that it will be eventually killed off the same way Scroogled was.
Google isn’t forcing us to use AI, but they are definitely trying to trick us into using it. This seems to be the general trend with search engines. Duck Duck Go does it too, but it doesn’t hide the results under 4 screens like Google and others do.
See this article on Dark Patterns