If google is serving 90% traffic & others are unable to enter - Doesn't that mean google is doing something right for the customer and others are unable to outcompete it? Isn't this how life works?

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CGMthrowaway 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Google is allowed to be big, be better and win users. But happy customers is not the full test of monopolization. The real question is, "Could a meaningfully better search engine realistically displace Google today?” If the answer is no, then competition is broken

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xnx 5 hours ago | parent [-]

> "Could a meaningfully better search engine realistically displace Google today?”

ChatGPT clearly demonstrated that displacing Google is possible. All previous monopoly arguments seemed even more flimsy after that.

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b3kart 4 hours ago | parent [-]

I think you’re proving the monopoly argument yourself: if they only way to compete with Google is an innovation that generations of scientists have been working towards, it does paint a grim picture of competition in this space. Besides, are we ignoring Gemini?

	▲	charcircuit 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Google already used AI and language models before ChatGPT came out. If you wanted a state of the art search / recommendation engine you needed that innovations from scientists already.

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rafterydj 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

This is a woefully naive view on the nature of monopolies. You could have made the same argument for Standard Oil.

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hamdingers 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Is the user's choice to use google a meaningful one when they're effectively the only game in town?

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giantrobot 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Google must be right for the customer because Google pays billions of dollars to be the default search engine for all the major browsers. And end users are notorious for changing application defaults.

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soiltype 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

...No. Not at all. Not in the case of Google and generally that's not "how life works". If it was true, why would Google spend so much money to be the default search engine in so many devices/browsers?