Google search is gone to the dumps :(

Forums › Desktop computing › Google search is gone to the dumps :(

Batman

Mad Scientist
30049 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6235

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#324914 12-Jun-2026 12:25

with their introduction of AI and what not i find that it's much harder to find the webpages you are after

for example i search world cup free matches tvnz nz

hoping to find which matches are free to air

every link the AI answer does not give me anything

ok so stuff the AI and click on the google hits and nothing

so i've given up and most likely will try to find it on GZ tonight as it's likely someone's posted it here somewhere (GZ search is also hosted by google so similar kind of performance since the beginning of time)

Oblivian

7375 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2145

ID Verified

#3502320 12-Jun-2026 12:39

site:tvnz.co.nz free to air world cup

1st link. All the info/games in a row on a page. Ones without lock = FTA.

Gurezaemon

~HONYAKKER!~
1436 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1612

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3502321 12-Jun-2026 12:41

https://tenbluelinks.org might be useful. It worked for me a while back.

Get your business seen overseas - Nexus Translations

haydenw

12 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 18

ID Verified

#3502372 12-Jun-2026 13:03

So many guardrails on the AI nowadays, wouldn't be surprised if this is the problem here.

For the conspiracy theorists out there, rumour has it that Google nerfs product listing results (makes them intentionally irrelevant) so users favour their Google Shopping ads results. Hopeless.

KiwiSurfer

1773 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1032

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3502387 12-Jun-2026 13:51

Google has been awful for a long time now. I switched to DuckDuckGo many years ago. Whenever I set up a fresh OS install and I do a search on Google by accident I'm shocked at how bad it is. Results #1 in DuckDuckGo is often below the fold using the same query in Google. YMMV.

gzt

19077 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 8162

Lifetime subscriber

#3502404 12-Jun-2026 14:08

The sponsored results in the main search view sometimes really irritates me. I searched for a clothes airer last night. I wanted a fibreglass non-rusting one or something similar. The first page and a half had 99% sponsored results and almost completely irrelevant.

I believe the 'shopping' tab results are similarly sponsor ranked now. That's kind of ok when they are actually relevant. Even so, pretty bad sometimes as a result. Basically someone is paying to en****ify search results and if they are willing to pay enough they can en****ify lots and lots and lots yay.

What happened to the unobtrusive sidebar ads? Probably still there and hardly noticed now. I will try that duck duck go thing. Never felt the need before now.

Stu1

1943 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 516

ID Verified

Subscriber

#3502438 12-Jun-2026 16:08

I really hate it given feedback it’s enough for me to switch . Bing is just terrible though what are some options?

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

djtOtago

1191 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 614

#3502459 12-Jun-2026 16:39

Have a look at TVNZ+ schedule here: https://helptvnz.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/52944017488153-FIFA-World-Cup-2026-schedule
Shows which games are free to air on the TVNZ+ platform.

Tinkerisk

4931 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3858

#3502508 12-Jun-2026 22:02

haydenw:

For the conspiracy theorists out there, rumour has it that Google nerfs product listing results (makes them intentionally irrelevant) so users favour their Google Shopping ads results.

You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to understand Google’s profit-making intentions. You certainly don’t become a Big Tech company with just a harmless search engine.

Qui nihil scit, omnia credere debet. - He who knows nothing must believe everything.
Firewalls do NOT stop dragons. Really not!
I avoid Big Tech. They try hard to dictate technology and „culture“ across borders.
In effect we have everything to hide from someone, and no idea who „someone“ is.

gzt

19077 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 8162

Lifetime subscriber

#3502512 12-Jun-2026 22:24

Tinkerisk: You certainly don’t become a Big Tech company with just a harmless search engine.

Google actually did become a big tech company by building a harmless search engine. Then they built Gmail not long afterwards.

Alphabet was the big change in 2015 which replaced "Don't be evil" with something else.

I only wish my Google subscription included something like a "Classic Search" option from the "Don't be evil" days. Anyway, I'll try make myself use DuckDuckGo next week and see how I feel about it. Looks darn good actually. It's been around the longest. Most features are tastefully hidden until you actually want or need them.

Tinkerisk

4931 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3858

#3502520 12-Jun-2026 23:49

gzt:
Tinkerisk: You certainly don’t become a Big Tech company with just a harmless search engine.

Google actually did become a big tech company by building a harmless search engine. Then they built Gmail not long afterwards.

Sure. Right at the very beginning. But the appetite came with the eating.

👉 LibreWolf browser with startpage as search engine 😉

Qui nihil scit, omnia credere debet. - He who knows nothing must believe everything.
Firewalls do NOT stop dragons. Really not!
I avoid Big Tech. They try hard to dictate technology and „culture“ across borders.
In effect we have everything to hide from someone, and no idea who „someone“ is.

roobarb

763 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 785

Trusted

#3502571 13-Jun-2026 01:28

Nobody needs AI to search the Internet, court says in ruling against Google

Google tried the usual arguments to shield itself from liability for false statements in AI Overviews, such as arguing that most users understand that AI outputs aren’t always accurate and must be verified.

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

networkn

Networkn
33061 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 15659

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3502583 13-Jun-2026 09:32

haydenw:

So many guardrails on the AI nowadays, wouldn't be surprised if this is the problem here.

For the conspiracy theorists out there, rumour has it that Google nerfs product listing results (makes them intentionally irrelevant) so users favour their Google Shopping ads results. Hopeless.

Which would be fine if google shopping ads were worth anything.