Why is Google search so bad?

For years, Google was the go-to tool for sorting fact from fiction online, a way to find trusted information in the chaos of the internet. Now? Well, Google will often serve you up the misinformation immediately with an inaccurate AI summary. Users have found that search results are dominated by ads and low-quality content, and the platform isn’t what it used to be. We dug into this on The Journal, and now on The Explainer, we’re joined by tech journalist and author Chris Stokel-Walker to unpack what’s gone wrong. Is this just a business model in decline, or is the rise of AI accelerating a wider shift?

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The Explainer is a weekly podcast from The Journal that takes a deeper look at one big news story you need to know about. What's the background? Why is this in the news? Get the facts behind the story from Ireland's biggest news website.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

• No. of episodes: 359
• Latest episode: 2025-06-04
• News

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