We don't click because those guys have made it so there's nothing worth clicking on.
1. https://www.google.com/search?q=how+often+to+do+oil+change
(this particular search has a few high quality results ranked at the top, but it illustrates what random dealerships from who knows where are doing to ruin the results.)
2. https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+wash+upstairs+windows
Perplexity, Google, Brave, and DDG have really good AI search results.
Now you can not only ask, “how often do I do an oil change?” you can ask, “I have a 2022 Honda Pilot coming up on 30k miles. What services should I have done? This car has been sitting for the last 6 months because I’ve been overseas” and you get a custom search response tailored to what you want.
I remember asking, “Can I park overnight on the street in ${county} without getting a ticket?” And instead of having to fish through government websites, AI just spit out the right answer and the links it used. Similar for “what temp should I cook chicken to?”
It’s only a matter of time until everyone figures out how to SEO spam AI, but until then, I’m a big fan.
Search operators had already solved this problem before Google decided to start ignoring them. When I genuinely came up with nothing it was usually because I didn’t have the vocabulary to make the search in the first place; this is where LLMs really shine. I often resolve technical issues by just asking the LLM what to do and responding “Didn’t work,” until I get something more helpful. It feels like smacking the top of a TV to get better reception, and it doesn’t always work, but it works often enough that I find myself using my LLM of choice quite a bit more, and Google quite a bit less.
Ha! this is such a funny analogy.
Nah seriously, how much longer can we afford to waste the energy of the planet and of humanity on such bullshit?
And for a kinda counter-example for the car dealership one, Ford dealerships sell extended warranties that are backed by Ford and usable at any Ford dealership. If you're in the market for one of those, you absolutely want to go with whichever dealership offers you the lowest price in North America, and not whatever your local dealership is charging.
Then I realized it was a pest-control website. If you now Google "jerusalem bug fever" the AI talks about flu-like symptoms. Its source? That pest control website...
There's "nothing worth clicking on" for question 1 because it's arguably (certainly so in my opinion) a worthless question. Without at the very least providing the specific model of car, even an experienced mechanic will struggle to answer it for you meaningfully as phrased - there are a huge range of recommended oil service intervals across different car models.
While I don't know much about cleaning windows, providing more specific context for example 2 will likely do wonders to the quality of result returned too.
Yes, it's not a question that has a literal numerical answer in the exact form that's being asked for, but if you ask an actual human they can 100% answer it for you.
By over specifying the question you will miss out on the more important context.
The cars sitting outside my home vary in oil service interval by over 10k miles, as just one simple example, and I don’t drive anything particularly exotic.
By under-specifying the question, you rob it of the context to be answered accurately.
Doesn't seem too hard to generate a bunch of content marketing articles for "how often to change oil for {2012,2013,...2026} corolla", similar to how there's content marketing spam for every windows error message imaginable, which end up being some variant of "have you tried sfc /scannow?".
I stopped using Google search years ago as it became nothing but useless results that led to garbage I wasn't looking for. I at least still get good results from DuckDuckGo somehow
> I stopped using Google search years ago as it became nothing but useless results that led to garbage I wasn't looking for.
"Personal injury lawyers are paying 568% more per click than they did in 2021. The keyword 'Las Vegas personal injury attorneys' costs $500 per click. Some legal keywords have crossed $1,000."
Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer at $1000
If what you're selling is mortgages or franchise businesses the cost you are willing to pay for a click just to get a chance to convert to a lead, just to get a chance to convert to revenue, is surprisingly high.
Oops. I guess it's back to billboards along the freeways.
I'm talking to _you_, "Yo, Pain Law, Yo" subway guy.
Augmented reality adblockers can’t get here soon enough.
Air Canada did this once to me years ago with the audio piped over the plane PA system - I doubt I can personally take credit for them ceasing the practice, but I sent complaints to both Air Canada and each of the advertisers, and haven't seen that again since.
And also they seem to continue using FM broadcast stations to carry their messages.
I confess to "not clicking," myself. Also, I often use ChatGPT to answer questions I used to put to Teh Google.
The same can be said for your search vendor I suppose. And now an advertising free search company exists we can finally see how true this is.