God bless Google.
Googles solves problems and helps me navigate life every day. I don’t know what I’d do without it or the other web search tools I tinker with.
Me: “Hey Google, tell me about new property tax laws that passed the Texas Legislature.”
“Hey Google, what’s that little charger called that keeps fluorescent lights on?”
“Hey Google, how do you install a ballast for a fluorescent light?”
“Hey Google, play Luciano Pavarotti singing the best part of Act 3 of the opera Turandot.”
Google’s big change
Google is changing not only its physical appearance but also the way it searches for you. The result is remarkable, and I can’t wait to show you how.
Followers of my Watchdog Nation consumer rights group (if you’re reading this you’re automatically a member) know how to use the most important tool in the history of consumer protection. It’s what I call “the magic Google box.”
If you do a background check on someone before you hire their company or buy a product, you’re using it correctly. Most victims I meet tell me they checked the magic box only after they lost their money to a bad product or company.
Google ads
Before I show you what is possibly the most dramatic change ever in Google search, let’s take a trip down nostalgia lane.
Originally, if you wrote a post, Google would pick it up and throw it on the front page because, at first, there was little competition.
As more people posted, the harder it got. You had to post a lot to get noticed in rankings.
The ads, if I recall correctly, were kept on the side away from actual search results.
Then the paid ads (also called sponsored results) moved to the top of search results by bidding for higher rankings. This confused people. You clicked on sites and maybe ended up in the wrong place.
The best example, of many, is the state-sponsored electricity shopping site — powertochoose.org. It should pop up as No. 1 on page one, but it’s usually down around five. Electricity companies pay big bucks to buy ads for the words “power to choose” and push the real site down. The goal: steal shoppers.
Scammers game the system in hundreds of ways. For some troubled industries like garage door companies, Google insists on verification before allowing them to buy ads. Google has asked to see video of their office (proving it’s real) along with the front and back copies of the owner’s driver’s license.
AI Mode released
If you’ve guessed that the change has to do with artificial intelligence, you’re right.
When you ask Google’s new “AI Mode” a question, Google does all the work for you. In seconds, it can provide a genius-level answer to your query — or not.
Warning: AI is often known to give inaccurate answers. It’s not perfect, and it’s smart to verify information.
Accuracy is a problem. ChatGPT warns in all searches that “ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info.”
Checking complaints
In a test, I used the name of a well-known North Texas electrician/plumbing business and searched for its name with the word complaints.
The “AI Overview,” as Google calls it, offered an AI answer that I’ll get to in a moment.
Beneath the AI overview were prominent websites that I normally would have to sift through: the BBB, Yelp, Reddit and Angie’s List. I’d still have to spend time surfing.
But looking at the AI answer up top, the summary states, the company “has received numerous complaints regarding high prices, pressure sales tactics and unnecessary work. Some complaints also mention issues with permit costs being inflated and difficulty getting issues resolved under warranty.”
If that summary isn’t deep enough, each of the above accusations goes into greater detail.
Succinct summaries
I don’t want to leave you with the impression that Google owns the AI market. For the first time in its history, Google has real competition. I use ChatGPT, too. Microsoft Co-Pilot is another prominent AI version.
I asked ChatGPT the following: “What does Dave Lieber say about Atmos Energy?”
The answer startled me in its succinctness.
It says that I highlight Atmos’ billing practices and its lack of transparency. It says I focus on high bills and the struggle to get clear explanations.
“Lieber also criticizes Atmos for what he describes as a secretive corporate culture. He shares accounts of customers who, despite repeated inquiries, received vague or no responses regarding their billing concerns. The lack of transparency is particularly concerning given Atmos’ status as a regulated monopoly.”
Brilliant. There’s a tiny link to my original story, but I fear readers won’t click because they’ll get what they need in the AI summary.
As the old saying goes, why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?
To find Google AI Overview and AI Mode, don’t be afraid to push buttons on the home screen and the search page. A Google spokesperson told me how to find them, but, ironically, I had to ask Google where to look. They’re not always prominently placed.
Have fun: For Mother’s Day, I asked AI to insert my wife into the script of her favorite TV show. She loved it!
OK, here is the part of this Watchdog report where I show AI the story and ask for help with a witty ending.
But I do not use AI to write my stories.
Instead, as proof, I’ll end this way, simply: Bye bye.