Big Tech's Big Lie

Is big tech killing itself? Recent mass layoffs at tech companies—which continued this week with cuts at DoorDash—have destroyed the image of big tech firms as lean and efficient machines. On the contrary: As investors such as Altimeter Capital and TCI have pointed out, firms like Google and Meta Platforms (not to mention Amazon) are overstaffed and bureaucratic. But a bigger issue may be signs that big tech services such as Google search and Amazon shopping are losing their luster with consumers.

Consider just a few data points. Earlier this month, Freakonomics Radio aired a podcast titled “Is Google Getting Worse?” that looked in detail at how the quality of Google search has deteriorated in recent years. Last week, The Washington Post ran a detailed article by its tech columnist, Geoff Fowler, headlined: “It’s Not Your Imagination: Shopping on Amazon Is Getting Worse.” His main complaint is that ads now dominate Amazon's search results. Also last week, The Wall Street Journal noted that Amazon’s ranking on the American Customer Satisfaction Index had fallen to a record low. Amazon used to brag about the fact that it was regularly at the top of that survey, but it was noticeably silent about the recent change to its score. In July, meanwhile, the index reported that Google’s ranking had dropped below that of a group of smaller search engines.