A.I. Answer Engines Are Worth Trying ⇥ tidbits.com

Adam Engst, TidBits:

To distinguish these tools [Perplexity and ChatGPT’s web search] from traditional search engines like Google and Bing, I’m calling them “answer engines.” Although they are performing live Web searches for you, the focus is on answering your question rather than displaying the results of the search. I see answer engines as the next step in networked knowledge acquisition because they fundamentally change how we find and absorb information online:

[…]

The key benefit of answer engines is that they typically provide you with exactly the information you want, with no additional effort required. They’re a bit like Wikipedia in this way—you could fact-check statements with the listed sources in a Wikipedia article, and you can often learn more by following links to related topics, but most of the time, you’re happy to read the article and move on.

I think Engst is, in an ideal world, correct — A.I. search is positioned as a way to get straight to the answer. It, theoretically, cuts through a web poisoned by bait for search engines, marketing copy disguised as information, and thin articles suffocated by ads.

So far, I have rarely been satisfied by the results I have received. It has never been satisfactory for someone to say “according to Google” when asked how they know a piece of information, and the deadpan way answer engines frame their responses gives them an unearned authority. I have found it necessary to double check everything. I recently documented ChatGPT’s answer with an invented report with an invented quote that led me to the results I was looking for after some web searches. I have also posted screenshots from Google’s A.I. answer engine on Mastodon. It made up an Excel option and cited it to Microsoft’s documentation; it claimed Noah Wyle co-starred with Alex Horne in “The Pitt”. In fairness, I would like to see that.

Even so, these answer engines have been helpful for me as starting points. It can sometimes be difficult to know what search terms to use, even if you can formulate in your head the question or type of answer you are hoping to receive. I have found this particularly helpful with web development questions. They are tools that can support someone on a research journey. But we should remain skeptical that some trained black box of mystery is able to directly answer questions accurately. We must check, and re-check. Our ability to use these products depends on a well-developed skill for research.