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No. If I search "Toyota RAV4" what I mean is Toyota RAV4. If I meant Mazda CX-50 I would have typed "Mazda CX-50." If I wanted information about various mid-siz

No. If I search "Toyota RAV4" what I mean is Toyota RAV4. If I meant Mazda CX-50 I would have typed "Mazda CX-50." If I wanted information about various mid-size SUVs, rather than one in particular, I'd have searched "midsize SUVs." The number of times I have searched something, got back something I did not ask for, and found that helpful, rounds down to zero. It's actively destructive to the platforms that allow this kind of hijacking of search terms.

ScoobleDoodle 2mo ago
Agreed. Also a search along the lines “cars like Toyota RAV4" when I intend to broaden the search to other equivalents, because I don’t know the terminology.
enquirewithin 2mo ago
[flagged]
- wolfd 2mo ago
  I think that it’s fine, and good, to critique the way that corporations do their business. That’s kinda one of the core tenets of capitalism, no?
rexer 2mo ago
Are you saying that because it’s across company boundaries? Or would you be similarly upset if one result was for a Toyota Highlander? Or for a Toyota RAV4 XSE but not the LE trim I gotta say, I think you’re in the minority. I suspect most folks appreciate the cross shopping suggestion
- Dusseldorf 2mo ago
  Yes! It's very frustrating when I think I'm browsing several variations of a single product, only to realize that some of the results are a totally different product, the brand doesn't affect it either way. I'm fine seeing results for multiple trims if I didn't specify one.
  - samplatt 2mo ago
    >I'm fine seeing results for multiple trims if I didn't specify one. And when you DO specify one, but get results for something else entirely?
- samplatt 2mo ago
  The day searches started giving us ads instead of what we asked for (as opposed to in addition to what we asked for) was the day they stopped being useful. Which for Google was many years ago. This is not "cross shopping suggestions", it's an abuse of a monopoly for profit. Literally everyone I know feels this way, even if they don't care about it as passionately. No one "appreciates" being openly manipulated to their financial detriment.
xyzelement 2mo ago
I agree that this is true for you and probably even for me. But think about normal human conversation - when a friend tells me they are going to buy a rav-4 that weekend,I am 100% going to tell that then I had a rental CX-50 last week and would recommend they take a look at it. In other words: putting a new concept on someone's radar that they hadn't thought about but is relevant to them is hugely valuable. Think about it like this: - lots of people searched Rav 4 - some of them clicked the ad for cx-50 - some of them ended up test driving the cx-50 - some of them bought it For the people that clicked / test drive / bought - there's clearly something important that happened as a result (whether it changed the final outcome or not) Though yes personally I would be like "compact suvs 2026 reviews" as my starting point so that would never be me - but not everyone is me.
- lpghatguy 2mo ago
  Having those things come up in conversation with a friend, who we can probably trust to deliver good information to us, is _way_ different than a platform that is going to potentially profit if they can sway you another direction. If my friend is involved in an MLM scheme, I'm not going to trust them that I should buy NutriProteinShakeMax! I probably don't want them to tell me about it, ever!
- ryukoposting 2mo ago
  > when a friend tells Pause. Amazon is not my friend. Neither is Google, or Netflix, or Temu, or any other website or service. When I ask an e-commerce website for something, I'm not looking for normal human conversation. I'm looking for a product. More generally, when I'm asking a computer for something, I'm still not looking to have a conversation. I'm looking for results. Quaint, I know. If I want Amazon to "put new ideas on my radar" I'll ask for that explicitly. Spoiler alert: I won't. It's a website where you buy things, not a goddamn mood board.

ScoobleDoodle 2mo ago

Agreed. Also a search along the lines “cars like Toyota RAV4" when I intend to broaden the search to other equivalents, because I don’t know the terminology.

enquirewithin 2mo ago

[flagged]

wolfd 2mo ago
I think that it’s fine, and good, to critique the way that corporations do their business. That’s kinda one of the core tenets of capitalism, no?

rexer 2mo ago

Are you saying that because it’s across company boundaries? Or would you be similarly upset if one result was for a Toyota Highlander? Or for a Toyota RAV4 XSE but not the LE trim I gotta say, I think you’re in the minority. I suspect most folks appreciate the cross shopping suggestion

Dusseldorf 2mo ago
Yes! It's very frustrating when I think I'm browsing several variations of a single product, only to realize that some of the results are a totally different product, the brand doesn't affect it either way. I'm fine seeing results for multiple trims if I didn't specify one.
- samplatt 2mo ago
  >I'm fine seeing results for multiple trims if I didn't specify one. And when you DO specify one, but get results for something else entirely?
samplatt 2mo ago
The day searches started giving us ads instead of what we asked for (as opposed to in addition to what we asked for) was the day they stopped being useful. Which for Google was many years ago. This is not "cross shopping suggestions", it's an abuse of a monopoly for profit. Literally everyone I know feels this way, even if they don't care about it as passionately. No one "appreciates" being openly manipulated to their financial detriment.

xyzelement 2mo ago

I agree that this is true for you and probably even for me. But think about normal human conversation - when a friend tells me they are going to buy a rav-4 that weekend,I am 100% going to tell that then I had a rental CX-50 last week and would recommend they take a look at it. In other words: putting a new concept on someone's radar that they hadn't thought about but is relevant to them is hugely valuable. Think about it like this: - lots of people searched Rav 4 - some of them clicked the ad for cx-50 - some of them ended up test driving the cx-50 - some of them bought it For the people that clicked / test drive / bought - there's clearly something important that happened as a result (whether it changed the final outcome or not) Though yes personally I would be like "compact suvs 2026 reviews" as my starting point so that would never be me - but not everyone is me.

lpghatguy 2mo ago
Having those things come up in conversation with a friend, who we can probably trust to deliver good information to us, is _way_ different than a platform that is going to potentially profit if they can sway you another direction. If my friend is involved in an MLM scheme, I'm not going to trust them that I should buy NutriProteinShakeMax! I probably don't want them to tell me about it, ever!
ryukoposting 2mo ago
> when a friend tells Pause. Amazon is not my friend. Neither is Google, or Netflix, or Temu, or any other website or service. When I ask an e-commerce website for something, I'm not looking for normal human conversation. I'm looking for a product. More generally, when I'm asking a computer for something, I'm still not looking to have a conversation. I'm looking for results. Quaint, I know. If I want Amazon to "put new ideas on my radar" I'll ask for that explicitly. Spoiler alert: I won't. It's a website where you buy things, not a goddamn mood board.