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Probably not long, some users already got A/B'ed into testing "sponsored results"

https://i.imgur.com/UpAptFL.png



The response on the left references specific products, but where's the evidence that it's sponsored?


Aside from the marketing-ish tone and specific deeplinks to product purchase pages, the prominent Amazon logo and product description headline implied some degree of affiliation to my eyes. It seems like the evidence is that it would be foolish not to take the money for presenting such an obvious referral of a motivated buyer.

Frankly the example they posted seems like a fairly happy one, where the user is explicitly implying that they’re seeking a specific physical product to introduce to their life. We’ve all seen where those monetization incentives lead over time though.

But you’re right—not even so much as a tiny word “Ad” like Google does…


It could just be affiliate links? Wow billions of dollars poured into AI so it can serve up referral links. A boring dystopia indeed.


This is not a sponsored result. If I search about my username that I use on my Mastodon account, it show a result like that...

Basically, this means the answer is based on a main webpage.

It shows the cute Mastodon logo and all :D




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