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Google Search has undergone many changes over the years. Some changes are big, some are small, but each time the iconic Internet search engine moves further and further away from its original form.
If you're interested in how Google Search has evolved over the years, you can view an interactive timeline of Google Search on Google's website. Some of these additions – including typo suggestions such as “Did you…?” and new search modes such as images, news, and videos – are clear wins for Google and add to the search engine's versatility. Improved functionality. Other features, such as sponsored ads that inevitably appear in search results and the recent AI-powered “search generative experiences” (SGEs), are also less popular.
Well, it looks like Google has done the unthinkable. We've released a new “web” setting for our search engine. This only displays a list of text-based links and takes you back to the heyday of his Google searches in 2000. That's right. No images, no shopping results, no AI-generated answers.
A more complete search engine
The “web” mode has been rolled out worldwide and is now accessible to everyone. It's located under the search bar itself, under the “More” option at the top of the results.
Unsurprisingly, it's been met with wild applause on social media. Twitter commenters (cough, X) praised his Google changes, with many saying this is exactly what they want from a search engine.
We've released a new “Web” filter that only displays text-based links, as well as filters that display other types of results such as images and videos. This filter will appear at the top of results pages alongside other filters or as part of the 'More' option and will be rolled out starting today… pic.twitter.com/tIUy9LNCy5May 14, 2024
It's a bit of a shame that Google's decision to roll back time on its most used product received such a positive response, but it's important to note that this was done to counter any potential backlash from the gradual rollout of SGE. There is no doubt that it was. AI-powered search tools use machine learning to “harvest” relevant data from the internet and provide AI-generated responses. While this may be useful for some users, it poses a serious threat to online media and information outlets.
It's worth noting that the web search view still includes sponsored text links, but I don't think you can include them all. Personally, I am very happy about this change. Not only does he prefer doing his own reading rather than receiving AI-generated information from online searches, but as a digital journalist he has a vested interest in Google keeping searches simple. .
The dangers of AI in search
I fear that Google's SGE experiment is doomed to fail, especially since it has the potential to consume itself. SGE is definitely a powerful tool that can provide users with a nice overview of the information they're looking for, but it requires content written by humans To do that.
An example of what Google answered when SGE was first announced was the question, “What's the best Bluetooth speaker for pool parties?” Sure enough, SGE has created a list of recommended products that includes links to both retailers and sites that review recommended speakers.
Now, like many other technology news sites, we naturally have our own article ranking the best Bluetooth speakers. We have literally hundreds of buying guides and it's important to keep them up to date with useful information for consumers. many But it's a job we're happy to do because it pays our bills and ultimately helps consumers find out what they actually want to know – you know, the reason TechRadar exists as a site. All the reasons.
However, if SGE were to take over, all of the affiliate and advertising revenue that we, and all other sites that endorse our products, earned could evaporate.
Once that happens, we pivot. The journalism industry is always on the cutting edge, ready and able to adapt to the challenges of an ever-changing media environment. Yes, we will find new ways to reach our readers directly through newsletters, social media, subscriptions, or other methods that will emerge in the coming years.
But if having all those buying guides, recipes, and top 10 lists appear within Google Search is meaningless for the sites that create them, many people want Google's bots to crawl them. , or at least choose to stop using them for LLM training. . And if that happens, Google's AI will become less and less relevant and useful in SGE proposals as fuel sources dry up.
I know this sounds like a whine. “Oh, Google is going to destroy our profitability!” But that doesn't mean there aren't problems. Google may have developed a new version of online search that automatically destroys itself if it succeeds.
In other words, we're happy to see the heroic return of “web search” in this age of AI uncertainty. After all, I’m not going to start using Bing…
