If you’ve ever searched online for the “best laptop under $1,000” or “best noise reducing earphones,” you’ve probably run into one of those awful review sites full of long, useless introductions, vague recommendations, filled with ads that make it difficult to even read the content. Their real goal isn’t to help you, but to make money through ads and affiliate links by gaming Google’s search algorithm. (Affiliate links are the links to Amazon and other retailers that pay a commission if you buy a product.)
This model is now on life support, and the ventilator might soon be pulled. Why? Because artificial intelligence is beginning to replace the way we search—and for once, it’s a change for the better.
For the past decade, Google has been a feeding ground for what’s called review mills. These sites are built on one principle: figure out what people are searching for, create some shallow content stuffed with keywords, and use SEO (search engine optimization) to rise to the top of Google’s rankings. Add a few Amazon affiliate links and you’ve got a money-generating formula. You’re rewarded, not for the quality of the content, but for including the right words.
But, as I noted in an earlier column, these sites rarely offer useful reviews or helpful content. Instead, they’re written by content farms or scraped from elsewhere on the Internet, using a title you are looking for, such as the Best this or that, designed to lure you in and hope you’ll click on an ad. You can usually identify these sites by their never getting right to the answer you’re looking for within the first few paragraphs. These sites have also made the web much more difficult to use because they make it difficult to find the good sites.
I’ve spent a career designing, reviewing, and working with tech products, and I can tell you that the product information you get from these review sites often ranges from misleading to just wrong. They waste your time and erode trust. They also make it more difficult to find legitimate sites. I’m not referring to legitimate sites such as CNN or the New York Times, but ones like this. There are also many sites that have no ads but are an ad in itself. They list the top 10 of some product category, selecting brands you’ve never heard of, sprinkled in with a few well known brands. If it’s an unknown brand be wary and check it out elsewhere such as on Amazon reviews.
Now AI tools—like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others—are changing the model. When you ask, “What’s a good pair of wireless earbuds for noisy airplane cabins?” AI can now deliver an intelligent, well-sourced response that pulls from real reviews, expert opinions, and verified experiences. All without the noise, without the ads, and without needing to read five pages of filler. The improvement is startling and makes Google search obsolete, showing how bad it has been for so long.
Instead of relying on SEO tricks, AI surfaces content based on quality and relevance. That means these junky review sites are being bypassed entirely. They’re no longer among top results—not because Google changed its algorithm, but because people are skipping Google altogether. And this all means these sites will soon disappear.
There’s something very satisfying about this. Sites that built their businesses on tricking the Google algorithms to trick us are now being replaced by something much better, while depriving both the sites and Google the ill-gotten revenue.
Many of the publishers of this content spent years churning out “best of” lists with no testing, no credibility, and no real human input. AI doesn’t reward that. It looks for trustworthy sources, clear answers, and real value.
There’s now an opportunity for real reviewers—those who actually use the products they review, who understand the technology, and who know how to communicate honestly and clearly.
If you’re a photographer testing camera gear in the field, or a business traveler who’s actually compared carry-ons on transcontinental flights, your content might now be what AI models highlight. Ironically, AI may also amplify real expertise—because it values pattern recognition from credible sources.
Meanwhile, Google finds itself in a difficult position. Their business model depends on keeping people in their search ecosystem. But if users can get better, faster answers from AI, why even bother with Google search at all?
This shift represents something even bigger. We’re moving from an attention economy—where clicks and views were everything—to a trust economy. If users trust the answers they’re getting from AI more than they trust Google results, that trust becomes the new currency, and review sites built on tricks will die out. In response, Google is replacing their search engine with AI, but it will no longer have a monopoly on search.
The AI era may be far from perfect with many of its own problems, but at least it’sgiving us more relevance, clarity, and trust when it comes to product reviews.
As a longtime product reviewer, that’s something I really appreciate.
This is all good commentary and good news. But even legitimate review sites written by people who actually tested the product can be less than useful. An example is The NY Times Wirecutter. I find its reviews useless – fine for fashionista poseurs but lacking in test criteria that really evaluates the products. For example, you may look marvelous in those fashionable sunglasses, but what is the optical quality and light transmission?