AI Isn't Helping Google

Why the Search Engine is struggling to adapt

Author

Jon Haines
March 27, 2025

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This week’s edition:

  • AI Isn't Helping Google: Why the Search Engine is struggling to adapt  

  • Design articles i found interesting

  • Design jobs I found interesting

Google, like many technology companies, is spending massive amounts of money on AI. This is not surprising, since no one wants to get left behind in this race. You would think AI would be a great addition to the Search Engine giant, but it may actually be making the search experience a lot less enjoyable.

For example, take a look at the search result for “what is design” that is screenshotted below. Before getting to actual results (like the Wikipedia page, for example), a user would need to go through an AI overview, a dictionary definition (wasn’t expecting that one), and a “people also ask” section.

It feels as though Google has abandoned its links from yesteryear for more of a butler-type service to give users information that, perhaps, they didn’t really want. With AI being the focal point of the search results, would anyone even care to venture into the multitude of pages that exist on the Internet? Or is it enough to just take the word of an artificially created opinion.

For the time being, this is a minor thing to complain about, but I figured I would voice it. And there are methods for reversing this trend, as with add-ons like this one, which allows you to search as if it were 2023. Neat tool!

Design Articles for the Week

AI search is starting to kill Google’s ‘ten blue links’

New Adobe data reveals AI search referrals are on the rise.

www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/631352/ai-search-adobe-analytics-google-perplexity-openai

How to delete your 23andMe data

23 and NOT me, actually.

www.theverge.com/news/634680/23andme-genetic-data-account-deletion-how-to

China's open-source embrace upends conventional wisdom around artificial intelligence

China’s artificial intelligence space is moving towards free-use, open-sourced models in a trend that experts say will accelerate AI adoption and innovation.

www.cnbc.com/2025/03/24/china-open-source-deepseek-ai-spurs-innovation-and-adoption.html

Design Jobs for the Week

Hi, I’m Jon, a UX and Product Designer from Brooklyn, New York. I write the Design Breadcrumbs newsletter to express my own thoughts on the design world, freelancing, and career advancement. Subscribe to get this news delivered to your inbox every week.