I suspect that this is the direct result of AI generated content just overwhelming any real content.
I tried ddg, google, bing, quant, and none of them really help me find information I want these days.
Perplexity seems to work but I don’t like the idea of AI giving me “facts” since they are mostly based on other AI posts
ETA: someone suggested SearXNG and after using it a bit it seems to be much better compared to ddg and the rest.
I’m not sure what everyone’s issues are. With UBO and DDG, I find anything I’m looking for and its usually in the top 5 results. Even on Google, it’s quite easy to filter out AI and paid search results. Also, search engines still use advanced operators to fine tune your search parameters.