Comment on Google Search referrals to the web have plummeted, AI links are 'less than 1%' of traffic

org@lemmy.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

• GutterRat42@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  No, fewer people getting past the AI summary

  source

  • Addv4@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Given the state of a lot of the summaries I’ve seen lately, that is scary.

    source
  • DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Is that what this is saying? I wasn’t sure. The article should state that explicitly, and not assume that the reader concludes that.

    source

    • Crozekiel@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I think the issue there is the data doesn’t tell anyone “why”, it only tells “what”.

      source
    • SlurpingPus@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Hard to imagine usage of Google suddenly falling by 22%, much less 60%.

      source
  • org@lemmy.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Which is probably enough to find the info 90% of the time

    source

    • foodandart@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I have classic apple computers.

      I also maintain a small list of sites I visit to get abandonware programs for them. Of the times I’ve used the AI results, I found what I was looking for fewer than 15%. At one point, I had the AI telling me there was no such thing as Winamp for Mac, while I was running it in MacOS 8.6 under the virtualization program, Sheepshaver.

      Seriously?

      AI’s got so little ability to sort through archived knowledge and pull up old links and sources, it’s as if anything before 2006 never existed.

      Nuts to that.

      I hit up ten blue links and have never looked back.

      source

      • org@lemmy.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        But did a regular search provide the correct info? I find niche searches aren’t always good using either method. Old software info can be hard to find.

        source

        • -> View More Comments
  • TrojanRoomCoffeePot@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Holdup, are people not skipping the AI summaries entirely because the info is fucking shit?

    source
  • mr_anny@sopuli.xyz ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    This is actually a good thing. Google get paid for referrals and niw their “AI” shit turns against it.

    source

    • SlurpingPus@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Google get paid for referrals

      What are you talking about?

      source

      • winkerjadams@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Companies pay Google to be at the top of the list and get clicks

        source

        • -> View More Comments
      • mr_anny@sopuli.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Companies pay for google to show up high in search results. Some of them pay from clicks.

        Now people stop at the slop which is the first thing thry see in the results.

        This makes traffic to company sites go down which also affects google revenue.

        source

        • -> View More Comments
    • WindyRebel@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      This just forces people to turn to Google Ads. They will actually make more money from people because it kills off little businesses that can’t pay and jacks up competition/pricing for ad bids.

      source
  • SinningStromgald@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    The only use I have found for the AI summary is quickly getting NAIC numbers for insurance companies at work. Otherwise I use an extension that removes the AI summary.

    source

    • frongt@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Are those results correct, though?

      source

      • SinningStromgald@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        They actually are surprisingly.

        source