GoKawiilGoogle is about to look really different, and if you’re not a fan of the AI Overviews feature, then you’re not going to like what’s coming.
At the Google I/O 2026 keynote this week, the company announced that it is overhauling Search to embrace a conversational, AI-driven approach, even inviting users to enlist AI agents to automatically notify them if, for example, their favorite band were to go on tour.
“This is the biggest upgrade to our iconic search box since its debut over 25 years ago,” said Elizabeth Reid, leader of the Search organization at Google.
Now, when you search on Google, you’re given the option from the start to use AI mode. Even if you opt not to use AI mode, you might get a search result with an AI Overview, which will now include a chat box for you to ask follow-up questions. Once you open the chat box, Google begins to look more like ChatGPT than the search engine that’s ingrained itself into our lives for decades.
This announcement didn’t elicit the reaction that Google would’ve hoped for. Instead, many users see this as yet another example of a tech company squeezing AI agents and chatbots into everything it can, making it impossible to navigate the internet without encountering a chatbot. Especially after the rocky rollout of Google’s AI Overviews — remember when Google told people to stare into the sun? — users are not eager for another adjustment.
Image Credits:Google
On Google’s video announcing the Search updates, one commenter wrote, “this is the best advertisement for letting people know it’s time to get a different search engine.”
They make a good point. The new Google Search, which Reid describes as “AI search through and through,” is sure to alienate users. Generative AI aside, some users have also grown weary of Google for its sheer dominance — a U.S. District Court ruled in 2024 that Google had acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search.
If you’re curious about alternative search engines, you’re in the right place. Here are some places to start (or, embrace chaos and see where Open Web Engine takes you).
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