New web search option to google or duck duck go. You.com

Technology General Discussion
1

You.com’s AI-infused Google rival reveals the future of search | PCWorld

Ad free, at least right now and the AI does seem to provide some different results compared to Google, especially if you do multiple searches in the same session.

You.com’s AI-infused Google rival reveals the future of search | PCWorld

2

Just given it a look-in.

The lack of ads is very nice and I like that in the image search that the content opens in a pane to the right rather than on top (something even Neeva do, but at least theirs is fast as too unlike Google’s and Microsoft’s).

I’ve set it to my default browser (Vivaldi integrated it last month) and will give it a go for a fortnight.

3

So I tried it. Probably not long enough, but it was a shot. But now with Bing acceleratoring ChatGPT integration and Google set to follow, I’m switching back to Bing.

My reasons:

  • AI now integrated into Bing
  • Searches took several seconds to load on You
  • Image search on mobile on You always displayed images spanning the entire width of the display
  • I didn’t see any noticeable difference in search results.
  • Many images didn’t copy properly. They called them ‘proxies’.
  • After trying their AI chat, I has severely disappointed. It’s useless. If that’s what’s powering their searches, then it’s doing nothing useful.
4

That was my takeaway as well. Interestingly, we heard Monday that they either have been acquired or are in advanced talks to be acquired by “an enormous player” and betting is it’s Google.

5

I bet there’s something useful going in behind the scenes there, but from the frontend it looks like someone is buying/has bought a lemon.

I was seriously unimpressed.

6

That’s what I think to. When we talked to them one of the statements, they made was that the core engine was “new, proprietary AI enhanced technology” though no additional information on what that entails.