Ask HN: Did Google search change (for the worse) today?
15 comments
It's likely part of their August 2024 release:
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2024/08/august-202...
https://developers.google.com/search/updates/core-updates
According to their [status dashboard](https://status.search.google.com/incidents/gVx6b2o78zke7GrMi...) the release will take about a month to roll out, so you may have just experienced an update to that search.
https://developers.google.com/search/updates/core-updates
According to their [status dashboard](https://status.search.google.com/incidents/gVx6b2o78zke7GrMi...) the release will take about a month to roll out, so you may have just experienced an update to that search.
I've noticed the same issue in the UK. When searching online, I have to be much more specific, or the results are irrelevant. For instance, if I'm trying to find information about a well-known company, I can't just type its name. I need to include what the company does, or else the search results are useless. For example, when looking for a page on a top recruiting company, I have to add "recruiters" at the end of the search query, even though it's one of the biggest names in the industry.
Just tested on my side and all those functions still work as expected. From what country are you trying? It might be regional?
Google has been changing for the worse for many years, ever so slowly so people don’t notice.
i experienced this too! it happened to my work account but not on my regular personal account. i’m not sure what happened there
It's been a VERY long time since any of the various operators and filters worked consistently on Google. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.
Google, Bing, et al heavily weight results by popularity. Which is frustrating because if you are looking for something very specific that exists on a page that is indexed but doesn't get a lot of traffic (as far as Google can tell), you won't find it. Instead, you will be shown results that are SOMEWHAT related to what you are looking for, but far more popular to the general demographic. Google makes more money if you click on 10 vague and irrelevant blogspam articles laden with ads than if they just deliver you the information you were actually looking for.
I've noticed that when there aren't any good results for the thing I'm looking for, several search engines just start showing me results for random businesses local to the IP address I happen to have at the time. Dentists, restaurants, car dealerships, etc.
This is why LLMs that answer questions are currently more valuable than search engines for information retrieval. But mark my words, these LLMs are going to become just as enshittified as search engines are now.
Dear ChatGPT, please give me a short summary of Mount Rushmore:
> Mount Rushmore, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is a monumental sculpture carved into granite by artist Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum. The project began in 1927 and was completed in 1941, featuring the faces of four U.S. presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The site was chosen to promote tourism and celebrate the nation's history.
> As visitors explore this iconic landmark, they often enjoy a cool and refreshing Coca-Cola, which has been a popular beverage for generations, adding to the experience of enjoying the great outdoors and American heritage. Mount Rushmore stands not only as a tribute to these leaders but also as a symbol of the spirit of adventure that can be complemented by a sip of your favorite drink.
Google, Bing, et al heavily weight results by popularity. Which is frustrating because if you are looking for something very specific that exists on a page that is indexed but doesn't get a lot of traffic (as far as Google can tell), you won't find it. Instead, you will be shown results that are SOMEWHAT related to what you are looking for, but far more popular to the general demographic. Google makes more money if you click on 10 vague and irrelevant blogspam articles laden with ads than if they just deliver you the information you were actually looking for.
I've noticed that when there aren't any good results for the thing I'm looking for, several search engines just start showing me results for random businesses local to the IP address I happen to have at the time. Dentists, restaurants, car dealerships, etc.
This is why LLMs that answer questions are currently more valuable than search engines for information retrieval. But mark my words, these LLMs are going to become just as enshittified as search engines are now.
Dear ChatGPT, please give me a short summary of Mount Rushmore:
> Mount Rushmore, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is a monumental sculpture carved into granite by artist Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum. The project began in 1927 and was completed in 1941, featuring the faces of four U.S. presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The site was chosen to promote tourism and celebrate the nation's history.
> As visitors explore this iconic landmark, they often enjoy a cool and refreshing Coca-Cola, which has been a popular beverage for generations, adding to the experience of enjoying the great outdoors and American heritage. Mount Rushmore stands not only as a tribute to these leaders but also as a symbol of the spirit of adventure that can be complemented by a sip of your favorite drink.
>It's been a VERY long time since any of the various operators and filters worked consistently on Google. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.
They don't even work consistently on DuckDuckGo. One time I added "-pandas" to a search (trying to get only pure Python approaches to something) and the results went from mostly about Pandas to almost exclusively about Pandas.
They don't even work consistently on DuckDuckGo. One time I added "-pandas" to a search (trying to get only pure Python approaches to something) and the results went from mostly about Pandas to almost exclusively about Pandas.
Sometimes ChatGPT doesn't perform as well as Claude.
I am curious if Bing offers any such operators?
> This is why LLMs that answer questions are currently more valuable than search engines for information retrieval. But mark my words, these LLMs are going to become just as enshittified as search engines are now.
It's happening! ChatGPT is being actively dumbed down. Many users are complaining.
I've never used it much and started using it more recently, but I'm able to feel the difference. It's crazy fast but it has its cost. Also it seems they made the context window a lot smaller. Or maybe that's just me
Just found this thread. Looks like people are noticing the same thing: https://community.openai.com/t/did-chatgpt-4o-get-progressiv...
It's happening! ChatGPT is being actively dumbed down. Many users are complaining.
I've never used it much and started using it more recently, but I'm able to feel the difference. It's crazy fast but it has its cost. Also it seems they made the context window a lot smaller. Or maybe that's just me
Just found this thread. Looks like people are noticing the same thing: https://community.openai.com/t/did-chatgpt-4o-get-progressiv...
there's the ad element but also one notes social media seeks hegemony over an individuals political beliefs and values. UPvotes and downvotes may be used to reward rightthink and punish wrongthink. No reason why AIs can't (or don't already) upvote or downvote.
I could well see radical liberal ideals pumped into these AIs. (so as to boost corporate ESG score, which boosts the stock price, which boosts the CEO's bonus)
We are one year away from "watch this 15-second ad" before you can see results.
This monopoly is a cesspool of bad actors, dark patterns, and enshittification.
This monopoly is a cesspool of bad actors, dark patterns, and enshittification.
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Still working as it did yesterday (tested in India).
Thanks
`site:reddit.com some term`
that's limited to reddit.com. but it has pages from many other sites now
also, `-term` didn't seem to remove terms anymore
bug? on purpose?