I think Search was such a strong engineering feat that sold itself as a product, that they never had to develop the product chops that other tech companies had

I think Search was such a strong engineering feat that sold itself as a product, that they never had to develop the product chops that other tech companies had to. I'm also thinking of Waymo, and the disciplined way they went about developing their technology, working with municipalities, first responders, etc. But, there is already a clear-cut product goal (drive better and safer than a human driver), existing legal and regulatory framework, and very visible and high stakes for errors (humans getting injured or killed). It's the kind of conditions that engineering excellence and mediocre product design does very well.