That is exactly my point: there easily could be, but there isn't. Based on how many commenters on HN and similar sites bemoan how Google Search quality has precipitously declined and yearn for the Google of ~10 years ago, I think there'd be nontrivial demand for a $200/month ad-free Google with no-nonsense comprehensive results. Such a product does not exist because it would ultimately be a net loss for Google.

Reminds me of vid.me, who picked up on the intense hatred towards youtube and launched a competing video host that actually got some serious traction. No ads, no subscriptions, just pure good content.

They went bankrupt in a year. Turns out internet consumers are just painfully entitled.

The integration of ads is a problem but content creators and marketers have had an adversarial relationship with SEO with Google for a long time, the old algorithm probably would not work as well as what they are providing.