Essays - Benedict Evans · Benedict Evans
articleinsightCompeting in search
19 August 2024Strategy
Source excerpt
About Essays - Benedict EvansA quarter century after ‘don't be evil’ a judge has found that Google is abusing its monopoly in search. But no-one knows what happens next, and whether this ruling will change anything. Will Apple build a search engine? Will ChatGPT change search? Does it matter?
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Apollo layer
What a founder can learn
Founder takeaway
Treat disruption in search as an open strategic question, not a guaranteed market opening. Before competing, identify what could actually change—user behavior, default distribution, technology, or regulation—and choose the specific shift your product can exploit.
Why it matters
Founders can waste scarce resources betting that a ruling or new interface will automatically dislodge an incumbent. A durable opportunity requires a credible path to both better customer value and repeatable distribution.
Put it to work
Write down the one search-market assumption your strategy depends on, the evidence that would confirm it, and a low-cost test you can run before committing more resources.