In some ways nothing new here. For example, right now you can type in pi into Google, and Google will provide its value above the search results.
I doubt that the page of links will go away anytime soon. For restaurant addresses and other highly focused searches that rely on public information, that works. However, content creators will fight you mightily if you as a search engine want to use their copyrighted content to generate your own content. What's in it for them, if you provide the answer to the customer and take them out of the loop?
And this now implies that you become more than a traditional search company, you become a content company. That's no easy feat either.
I doubt that the page of links will go away anytime soon. For restaurant addresses and other highly focused searches that rely on public information, that works. However, content creators will fight you mightily if you as a search engine want to use their copyrighted content to generate your own content. What's in it for them, if you provide the answer to the customer and take them out of the loop?
And this now implies that you become more than a traditional search company, you become a content company. That's no easy feat either.