Google search also has a hidden cost and lock in. It’s likely that most products you find through Google and which you also see ads for are forced to pay Google

Google search also has a hidden cost and lock in. It’s likely that most products you find through Google and which you also see ads for are forced to pay Google 20-40% of the retail price in ads (passed onto the consumer) due to a lack of competition in search. And this number is not going down over time and Google has no incentive to make it go down (such as by innovating in ways people discover what they need so that it becomes cheaper). Not only that but the consumer doesn’t directly pay this Google tax, and thus does not attribute this cost to Google.