The author speculates that this is a direct side effect of Google searches being monetized by ads, and therefore targeting multiple searches. I don't think tha

The author speculates that this is a direct side effect of Google searches being monetized by ads, and therefore targeting multiple searches. I don't think that's the case. I think this has more to do with the fact that Google now deliberately surfaces as much information - including summaries, answers, tools and widgets - in the search results page itself, which incentivizes searching without a subsequent click. Google very much wants you to end your search journey on google.com, but I think that's because they believe it will keep people coming back. I do not think Google directly tries to keep people searching for the same thing. This may still raise interesting antitrust concerns though.