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I've been using kagi for almost a year, I think. Before that it was startpage or DDG. I also have the same experience where kagi doesn't find something I think

I've been using kagi for almost a year, I think. Before that it was startpage or DDG. I also have the same experience where kagi doesn't find something I think it should, so I go try google. Holy hell is google bad. Shockingly bad. I genuinely can't believe how bad it is now compared to 10 years ago.

stjohnswarts 3y ago
even a couple years ago. There is soooooo much AI generate trash nowadays like https://www.oggyboggydoop.com https://www.oggyboggydoop.com on the first page. How can google's SEO filtering be so bad?
atorodius 3y ago
Do you have example queries where Kagi shines? Just curious
- skinkestek 3y ago
  - Any time you are searching for something that can be misunderstood. - Especially if you feel the need to use doublequotes.
- calamari4065 3y ago
  No, not really. Kagi is designed to show you what you ask for, and not for showing you the ads you're most likely to fall for. It simply takes your query and returns results matching it. That's really it. It's sad that "does what you ask" is a defining feature, but that's what kagi is. They have advanced features like "lenses" that bias your results toward a specific topic like programming, research, forums. It also lets you add weight to certain domains. For example, I have Pinterest and Facebook totally blacklisted, and some small sites boosted in my results. They also support advanced query syntax with double quotes, +/-, and other operators. Which is to say, kagi is the standard for "search engine that works". Nobody else sells a search engine that just works and does what you tell it to, which is literally all I want out of a search engine. It's mundane and unsexy, but it works, it doesn't advertise at me, and it lets me get my work done faster.
ykonstant 3y ago
I have essentially given up on Google as a search engine; I use it as bookmark search for bookmarks I consistently fail to add to my list. 99% of the time I google something for a specific URL from a domain I know (wikipedia, arxiv. etc). The other 1% was Google searches, but now I just append :reddit.com from the get go, bringing down my genuine "Google search"es to approximately zero.

stjohnswarts 3y ago

even a couple years ago. There is soooooo much AI generate trash nowadays like https://www.oggyboggydoop.com https://www.oggyboggydoop.com on the first page. How can google's SEO filtering be so bad?

atorodius 3y ago

Do you have example queries where Kagi shines? Just curious

skinkestek 3y ago
- Any time you are searching for something that can be misunderstood. - Especially if you feel the need to use doublequotes.
calamari4065 3y ago
No, not really. Kagi is designed to show you what you ask for, and not for showing you the ads you're most likely to fall for. It simply takes your query and returns results matching it. That's really it. It's sad that "does what you ask" is a defining feature, but that's what kagi is. They have advanced features like "lenses" that bias your results toward a specific topic like programming, research, forums. It also lets you add weight to certain domains. For example, I have Pinterest and Facebook totally blacklisted, and some small sites boosted in my results. They also support advanced query syntax with double quotes, +/-, and other operators. Which is to say, kagi is the standard for "search engine that works". Nobody else sells a search engine that just works and does what you tell it to, which is literally all I want out of a search engine. It's mundane and unsexy, but it works, it doesn't advertise at me, and it lets me get my work done faster.

ykonstant 3y ago

I have essentially given up on Google as a search engine; I use it as bookmark search for bookmarks I consistently fail to add to my list. 99% of the time I google something for a specific URL from a domain I know (wikipedia, arxiv. etc). The other 1% was Google searches, but now I just append :reddit.com from the get go, bringing down my genuine "Google search"es to approximately zero.