Here is a tech tip if you have to use Google for whatever reason.
Add a custom search engine in Firefox and enter this URL: https://www.google.com/search?q=%25s&udm=web
This takes you directly to the "web" search tab and skips all the shitty AI summaries and wigdets.
I've had a problem lately where DDG just returns AI generated articles on topics instead of any real resources. It's not their fault, per se, since it's just a wrapper for Bing, but it's pretty lousy.
If I know what to expect, then it's fine, but if I'm genuinely looking for something new, it's increasingly frustrating
No I think they mean the linked webpages in the results are websites entirely generated by AI that Bing search has indexed. I've noticed this, too, especially looking for guides or help with very niche topics. It's incredibly frustrating that not just the search engines but the web itself is filling up with AI slop.
Oh like that, yeah, then that link won't help either. I've had that happen a few times as well, or maybe only noticed it a few times. It's very frustrating indeed.
I find it's primarily an issue when looking for information about products. Listicles have always been a pain, but now entire websites show up just to summarize every category of product without adding meaningful review or input.
That's exactly what has been happening with me I've noticed. DDG does it too. The top results are AI articles filled with useless filler words with no extra relevance to what I'm actually looking for. It's just the internet filling with slop. I need a search engine that doesn't give extra weight to these types of websites and actually gets me relevant guides, forums, posts, etc.
They specifically said if you have to use Google. I have set my default search engine to ddg on every device and prefer to never touch Google but I run into searches not uncommonly which I know should be pretty easy to find, but ddg just falls over on. Google almost always comes through on those. I hate Google and think their search engine keeps getting worse, but it still has a practical use.
What are the odds this will still work next week after Google allegedly plans to completely kill the search function and just serve up AI hallucinations whenever you try to look anything up?
I appreciate all the suggestions here, because I’ve been using Google and getting really annoyed by the AI overview. At first glance it seems useful, but it’s frequently just plain wrong or very misleading.
I think I’m going to just drop Google altogether, even though I’ve been using it pretty much as long as it existed. I remember first finding out about it when my dad worked at Kodak way back in the day.
See, old “Don’t be evil” Google would’ve put a hidden thing here to return something like “Error 6900: Internet Not Found” with a cozy little image of a person stepping outside their house into the sunshine with lush green ground beneath their feet and a helpful puppy or kitten guiding their way. They’d even have gone so far as to require that you clear out your cookies/cache and restart your browser to regain the ability to go to any websites, including theirs.
DDG and Ecosia use Bing, so depending on why you want to ditch Google, it's hardly a real alternative (to big tech). Qwant is slow and shows far less results. I still have to go to Google for some queries.
I do the same, but at times I use Ecosia instead of Qwant. The results are borderline unusable, just like in case of Google - too many commercial links, disrespect for the exact expressions I use or their proximity in text. If something is called similar to a product... So I find these search engines similar to Google, I use them to avoid Google, not to get better results. When image searching, I sometimes go back to Google when I don't get enough results - Google usually finds more.
I use DDG and everytime the results are bad I go back to Google. That happens like 1 out of 10 of all my searches. It's kinda cumbersome but whatever, I got used to it.
And now with what's going on with the forced AI, it seems I'm stuck with what DDG has to offer.
I googled it, and for others who don't understand the word salad, it's is a dish of mixed ingredients, typically including vegetables, fruits, grains, or proteins. It is usually served cold or at room temperature, often tossed in a sauce or dressing.
I googled it, and for others who don't understand the word salad, it's is a dish of mixed ingredients, typically including vegetables, fruits, grains, or proteins. It is usually served cold or at room temperature, often tossed in a sauce or dressing.
I think the joke is that he googled it, and google' shitty LLM returned an almost-but-not-at-all-accurate response to the question because LLMs don't understand context. Or anything, really
I just found the comment already very snarky, so I replied in the same way. They didn't have to call the whole title word salad just because of one abbreviation.
It's just a flag you can add to your search urls that returns a regular web search. There are firefox extensions that do it for you just search for udm14
I use Presearch and generally the results are good enough for my use. Just block the ads and ignore the crypto scam.
Seirdy also has a pretty exhaustive list of search engines to choose from.
Yeah, I use it as a fallback sometimes. The one thing I like about Presearch is that it has a customizable sidebar that let's you duplicate your search on another engine with one click if the results are shite. I also use Allsearch to that end but with Presearch it's synced across computers through my account.
I've been using Startpage and loving the results mostly. There's a big section at the top of most searches that bugs me though. It's like an alternative search query written several different ways, but I have to scroll past it every single search.
Here is a tech tip if you have to use Google for whatever reason.
Add a custom search engine in Firefox and enter this URL:
https://www.google.com/search?q=%25s&udm=web
This takes you directly to the "web" search tab and skips all the shitty AI summaries and wigdets.
Here is another tip: use DuckDuckGo and get useful results and stop feeding the Google Dragon altogether
I've had a problem lately where DDG just returns AI generated articles on topics instead of any real resources. It's not their fault, per se, since it's just a wrapper for Bing, but it's pretty lousy.
If I know what to expect, then it's fine, but if I'm genuinely looking for something new, it's increasingly frustrating
I'm using Kagi so I can report those sites as AI and have them filtered out for the rest of the community.
o7
I’m doing my part!
We are dozens
You can use the no A.I. version of Duck Duck Go instead.
No I think they mean the linked webpages in the results are websites entirely generated by AI that Bing search has indexed. I've noticed this, too, especially looking for guides or help with very niche topics. It's incredibly frustrating that not just the search engines but the web itself is filling up with AI slop.
Oh like that, yeah, then that link won't help either. I've had that happen a few times as well, or maybe only noticed it a few times. It's very frustrating indeed.
I find it's primarily an issue when looking for information about products. Listicles have always been a pain, but now entire websites show up just to summarize every category of product without adding meaningful review or input.
That's exactly what has been happening with me I've noticed. DDG does it too. The top results are AI articles filled with useless filler words with no extra relevance to what I'm actually looking for. It's just the internet filling with slop. I need a search engine that doesn't give extra weight to these types of websites and actually gets me relevant guides, forums, posts, etc.
Thanks. I'll try that out for a while.
nah just use startpage.com or duckduckgo
For what reason would one "have to" use Google?
Images, for one.
They specifically said if you have to use Google. I have set my default search engine to ddg on every device and prefer to never touch Google but I run into searches not uncommonly which I know should be pretty easy to find, but ddg just falls over on. Google almost always comes through on those. I hate Google and think their search engine keeps getting worse, but it still has a practical use.
What are the odds this will still work next week after Google allegedly plans to completely kill the search function and just serve up AI hallucinations whenever you try to look anything up?
https://www.google.com/search?q=search+terms&udm=14
Udm14.com is a direct link to this
I appreciate all the suggestions here, because I’ve been using Google and getting really annoyed by the AI overview. At first glance it seems useful, but it’s frequently just plain wrong or very misleading.
I think I’m going to just drop Google altogether, even though I’ve been using it pretty much as long as it existed. I remember first finding out about it when my dad worked at Kodak way back in the day.
Or, if you want, you can use a real search engine and therefore vote with your data against this change
You can vote with anything! Your vote, your voice, your wallet, your data, a gun, so many possibilities. THIS is what democracy is about!
A board with a nail in it!
Where this real search engine?
Searxng
Searxng is a meta engine.
It has no index, it just asks google and bing and DuckDuckGo (which asks bing), and qwant.
It’s not a real “search engine” either.
Apex enshitification
Lmfao
See, old “Don’t be evil” Google would’ve put a hidden thing here to return something like “Error 6900: Internet Not Found” with a cozy little image of a person stepping outside their house into the sunshine with lush green ground beneath their feet and a helpful puppy or kitten guiding their way. They’d even have gone so far as to require that you clear out your cookies/cache and restart your browser to regain the ability to go to any websites, including theirs.
hahahahaha
People who still use google these days just like licking the boot
If there is no decent alternative people will use it.
What internet do you live in?
I use Duck duck go at work and Qwant (European) privately.
Both are infinitely better than Google and They're only my preferred ones, there are dozens out there.
DDG and Ecosia use Bing, so depending on why you want to ditch Google, it's hardly a real alternative (to big tech). Qwant is slow and shows far less results. I still have to go to Google for some queries.
I do the same, but at times I use Ecosia instead of Qwant. The results are borderline unusable, just like in case of Google - too many commercial links, disrespect for the exact expressions I use or their proximity in text. If something is called similar to a product... So I find these search engines similar to Google, I use them to avoid Google, not to get better results. When image searching, I sometimes go back to Google when I don't get enough results - Google usually finds more.
Wtf we have so many good alternatives for search engines, what are you smoking?
Less of a bad thing is still a win.
I use DDG and everytime the results are bad I go back to Google. That happens like 1 out of 10 of all my searches. It's kinda cumbersome but whatever, I got used to it.
And now with what's going on with the forced AI, it seems I'm stuck with what DDG has to offer.
And you can do
!g search_termfor this 1/10 time, not so cumbersome in the endThere is though. Kagi.
It’s paid though, so the masses will eat from a privacy invading fascist honeypot trough instead.
Brother, google became so shit that Bing is better at this point
Startpage is one example. Almost every non-professional piece of software has good alternatives
Just a reminder, that Startpage was aquired by publicly traded advertisement company System1:
https://support.startpage.com/hc/en-us/sections/5194384379412-Startpage-System1
Yes, I know. It does display ads by default. On the other hand I don't see how else they should make money if they want to stay gratis
I googled it, and for others who don't understand the word salad in the title, "RP" means "role play."
I googled it, and for others who don't understand the word salad, it's is a dish of mixed ingredients, typically including vegetables, fruits, grains, or proteins. It is usually served cold or at room temperature, often tossed in a sauce or dressing.
No it isn't. That's a salad. A word salad is almost the same thing but the only ingredient is words. It tastes horrible.
I never said anything about a word salad. I just looked up the definition for the word 'salad'. :)
Ah, see I thought you meant the word salad but actually you were talking about the word salad !
I see the conundrum.
"Groceries. It's an old fashioned word. I don't know what it means. I invented that word, by the way."
I think the joke is that he googled it, and google' shitty LLM returned an almost-but-not-at-all-accurate response to the question because LLMs don't understand context. Or anything, really
I wrote "RP !ud" in DuckDuckGo, and felt like a wizzard.
Wait, you can bang after the term?
You can bang wherever you want. <3
"SHALL I BANG YOU ESTEEMED SIRS AND OR MADAMES?"
Thanks 👍🏻
Ignore the snark reply. I found your comment useful
I just found the comment already very snarky, so I replied in the same way. They didn't have to call the whole title word salad just because of one abbreviation.
I ignored
smdh.This is the most accurate, definitive AI experience I've ever seen captured.
It will do everything but the thing it was designed for, and you have to sudo brute force it in order to actually gain any utility out of it lol
&udm=14still works. For now.?
It's just a flag you can add to your search urls that returns a regular web search. There are firefox extensions that do it for you just search for udm14
Any idea what it stands for?
Try this: https://tedium.co/2024/05/17/google-web-search-make-default/
To be fair, it doesn't explain what udm stands for but does talk more about what it does
https://udm14.com/
Ah, finally. My skills from being an RP server moderator finally coming to fruition.
I wasn't sure - it does really work when you try it. 10 results, and.... NO ADS even. This is a great hack to get Google back
I use -noai at end of the search string.
This might be better if you get actual results and not 10 pages of ads and manipulated results.
Your method is much easier, however.
I don't use Google
Doesn't that just omit results with "noai" in the content?
It removes the ai summary and any reference by ai for me.
Or you could, I dunno, not use Google
We are in the midst of weaning. Our child has autism and was trained on google.
Did you mean Tulsa Massacre "-noai"?
And then it won't let you say no. Can't let you workaround our bot, after all. Look at that value added for our investors!
https://lemmy.world/post/35714227
I use Presearch and generally the results are good enough for my use. Just block the ads and ignore the crypto scam. Seirdy also has a pretty exhaustive list of search engines to choose from.
U try startpage.com ?
Yeah, I use it as a fallback sometimes. The one thing I like about Presearch is that it has a customizable sidebar that let's you duplicate your search on another engine with one click if the results are shite. I also use Allsearch to that end but with Presearch it's synced across computers through my account.
You know the bangs on DDG?
Sure, I also like ReBang
I've been using Startpage and loving the results mostly. There's a big section at the top of most searches that bugs me though. It's like an alternative search query written several different ways, but I have to scroll past it every single search.
You could always tell it to do that using atomic operations if you prefer.
Humans do LARP just by using A.I.
Click "Web". Might be hidden behind "More".