You can no longer Google the word ‘disregard’

Earlier this week, Google introduced a completely new search experience, bringing AI summaries to the fore and moving the traditional ’10 blue links’ far down the page. But the sheer size of Google Search means there are a lot of edge cases that the company doesn’t seem to have taken into account.

For example, this is what you now get when you type the word “ignore” into Google Search.

Google has spotted some fluff social media for this, and it’s easy to see why. As you’ll notice, the Merriam-Webster link is still there, but you have to scroll past a huge block of empty space. For most users, that one answer is the only one you see. And crucially, the AI ​​response has no value whatsoever to a user searching for the word “ignore.” It’s just a broken instrument.

For context, here’s the same search in Bing, which has been less aggressive about its AI summaries. It’s not perfect, but there is some useful information here.

I’ve been a professional technology journalist for almost fifteen years, and before today I can’t think of a single time when a Bing search result was more valuable than the Google equivalent. There really is a first time for everything!