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I think it's safe to say that Google has had a prominent position, and that they have indeed abused that position to gain an unfair market advantage over other

I think it's safe to say that Google has had a prominent position, and that they have indeed abused that position to gain an unfair market advantage over other companies due to ad placement and strategic cooperations. I'm sure Google will remain the top search engine despite this anti-trust case though, at least if they can keep up with the competition.

starbugs 3y ago
The market is changing. Many people now prefer not to even use search if they can help it, because it's got so messed up. They now have to compete against ChatGPT and they are late in the game. To make things worse, their reputation suffered a great deal with techies who despise their whole image and are actively trying to "degoogle" their lives. This may well be the beginning of a slow downturn since these people have an influence on the tech choices made by more "normal" users. What if it doesn't even matter if they can keep a dominant position of their search engine? These antitrust cases appear to be just a sign of a much larger pile of trouble ahead for Google.
- omscs99 3y ago
  > Many people now prefer not to even use search if they can help it, because it's got so messed up. According to what exactly? Journalist speculation?
  - starbugs 3y ago
    It's just a logical consequence of search being convoluted with ads and content you aren't interested in (SEO). If your search query resembles anything close to a question, ChatGPT will outperform the plain old search results w.r.t. the time users have to invest to get to an answer or solution. It's something I have experienced myself and observed in my surroundings, including many comments on HN that point to the same direction.
- detourdog 3y ago
  Search also may have had a limited lifespan. When the internet started to become public search was used to find something to satisfy interests. Now the internet has become homogenized to a point where outside forces are constantly telling individuals what where to go on the internet. I use search for doing research and development which is different than shopping or socializing.
- scarface_74 3y ago
  Please get out of your bubble. It doesn’t take much digging to figure out Google’s search traffic or revenue hasn’t gone down because of ChatGPT
  - paulpauper 3y ago
    yup. Google stock keeps going up. no worries.
    - scarface_74 3y ago
      I wouldn’t go that far. Stock price is a trailing indicator [1]. RIMs stock was at its highest in 2006 right before the iPhone was introduced. [1] yes I know that’s not technically true. I know it’s supppose to the present value of all future returns.
  - starbugs 3y ago
    > It doesn’t take much digging to figure out Google’s search traffic or revenue hasn’t gone down because of ChatGPT Whilst I didn't say that it did, would you mind sharing some sources for your claim?
    - scarface_74 3y ago
      The quarterly earnings statements
      - starbugs 3y ago
        > The quarterly earnings statements That (Earnings Call 2023/Q2) says that “search and other” revenue rose to $42.63 billion, up slightly from last year. Doesn't sound like a big growth story to me. Also it would be interesting to know what "other" means. Where do you get the traffic numbers from? > Please get out of your bubble. Maybe you are in a bubble?
        scarface_74 3y ago
paulpauper 3y ago
at least if they can keep up with the competition. yeah like duck duck crap which after 12+ years and endless marketing is still a niche and still not that good as a search engine? The closest thing to competition is Meta, but that is social networking. Even Chat GPT is not a threat to the mobile ads dominance of Google. Google ads are everywhere, Bing-Chat integration is just limited to search, and this is assuming people use it, which if Microsoft's failed 20 year foray into search is any indication, is not exactly promising.

starbugs 3y ago

The market is changing. Many people now prefer not to even use search if they can help it, because it's got so messed up. They now have to compete against ChatGPT and they are late in the game. To make things worse, their reputation suffered a great deal with techies who despise their whole image and are actively trying to "degoogle" their lives. This may well be the beginning of a slow downturn since these people have an influence on the tech choices made by more "normal" users. What if it doesn't even matter if they can keep a dominant position of their search engine? These antitrust cases appear to be just a sign of a much larger pile of trouble ahead for Google.

omscs99 3y ago
> Many people now prefer not to even use search if they can help it, because it's got so messed up. According to what exactly? Journalist speculation?
- starbugs 3y ago
  It's just a logical consequence of search being convoluted with ads and content you aren't interested in (SEO). If your search query resembles anything close to a question, ChatGPT will outperform the plain old search results w.r.t. the time users have to invest to get to an answer or solution. It's something I have experienced myself and observed in my surroundings, including many comments on HN that point to the same direction.
detourdog 3y ago
Search also may have had a limited lifespan. When the internet started to become public search was used to find something to satisfy interests. Now the internet has become homogenized to a point where outside forces are constantly telling individuals what where to go on the internet. I use search for doing research and development which is different than shopping or socializing.
scarface_74 3y ago
Please get out of your bubble. It doesn’t take much digging to figure out Google’s search traffic or revenue hasn’t gone down because of ChatGPT
- paulpauper 3y ago
  yup. Google stock keeps going up. no worries.
  - scarface_74 3y ago
    I wouldn’t go that far. Stock price is a trailing indicator [1]. RIMs stock was at its highest in 2006 right before the iPhone was introduced. [1] yes I know that’s not technically true. I know it’s supppose to the present value of all future returns.
- starbugs 3y ago
  > It doesn’t take much digging to figure out Google’s search traffic or revenue hasn’t gone down because of ChatGPT Whilst I didn't say that it did, would you mind sharing some sources for your claim?
  - scarface_74 3y ago
    The quarterly earnings statements
    - starbugs 3y ago
      > The quarterly earnings statements That (Earnings Call 2023/Q2) says that “search and other” revenue rose to $42.63 billion, up slightly from last year. Doesn't sound like a big growth story to me. Also it would be interesting to know what "other" means. Where do you get the traffic numbers from? > Please get out of your bubble. Maybe you are in a bubble?
      - scarface_74 3y ago

paulpauper 3y ago

at least if they can keep up with the competition. yeah like duck duck crap which after 12+ years and endless marketing is still a niche and still not that good as a search engine? The closest thing to competition is Meta, but that is social networking. Even Chat GPT is not a threat to the mobile ads dominance of Google. Google ads are everywhere, Bing-Chat integration is just limited to search, and this is assuming people use it, which if Microsoft's failed 20 year foray into search is any indication, is not exactly promising.