Technology

How to Search for Anything in the Age of AI

Getting an answer is only a couple of clicks away, but knowing whether an answer is correct still is not.

How to Find Information Has Changed

Finding information used to mean going to a search engine and typing in a phrase, going through the results, clicking on a few links, and determining whether they were worth the time and effort. If the search was not useful, the process could be repeated with another query. This could be time-consuming, but the search itself was relatively straightforward, and the path to the answer was clear.

Generative AI changes this process. While search engines point users toward sources, an AI can give a direct answer, make seemingly inaccessible subjects easier to understand, and provide an entry point for further research.

Researching has not disappeared, but the burden has shifted.

The Answer Comes First

Generative AI is not quite a search engine. Search engines direct users toward sources, while AI can pull information together and give an answer directly.

This can be useful for someone with limited time, someone who does not know much about a subject, or someone who does not know the specific terms needed to search for it. Questions and clarifications can be asked along the way, and difficult subjects can be explained, reworded, or narrowed down.

The problem is that a well-worded answer does not necessarily make its supporting information clear. Paragraph upon paragraph of seemingly well-researched text can be generated without showing where specific evidence comes from, whether that evidence is reliable, or whether the AI has misrepresented it.

A paper presented at the 2025 ACRL Conference discussed the implications of generative AI for research. Rather than simply helping people find documents, generative AI can provide answers that influence what they investigate next. An answer can change the next question a researcher asks, meaning that AI can affect not only what information is found, but also the path taken to find it (Sebastian, 2025).

The Source Still Matters

It matters who provides the information, when and where it was published, what evidence was used, and what other research it builds upon. All of this gives context to a source and allows its evidence, reasoning, and validity to be examined more thoroughly.

AI answers do not always lend themselves to this kind of examination. Even if there is a link or citation, it should still be examined. A source cited at the end of a paragraph does not necessarily support every statement within that paragraph.

This is especially important with unfamiliar subjects. Someone who knows a lot about a subject might recognize an inaccuracy, while someone who knows little or nothing about it may have fewer points of reference and be more likely to trust potentially faulty information.

This is why information literacy remains a vital skill, even in the age of AI. Finding information is useful, but being able to evaluate it is just as important.

Finding an answer is easy, while determining whether that answer is valid remains part of the work.

AI Can Decide Where You Look

The issue is not only whether an AI can give an answer, but where that answer directs the search.

For a research project, an AI response could introduce concepts that were not previously considered. These concepts could be helpful or lead to new and relevant sources. However, research could become stuck if the AI becomes the primary source of information and the researcher stops looking beyond its answers.

This adds another layer to searching for information. The information is no longer simply found through a search and then examined by the researcher. It may first be selected, organized, and presented by an AI before the researcher decides where to look next.

A similar issue can be seen on a smaller scale with traditional search engines. A recent Guardian article collected readers’ reactions to Google’s AI Overviews feature. Many readers disliked the change, preferring the older system where they could go through search results and decide which documents were useful. Others appreciated not having to open multiple windows, tabs, or documents just to get the basic idea of what they were looking for (The Guardian, 2026).

The disagreement is not only about whether an AI summary is useful. It is also about what happens when the path to the information becomes less visible. When an AI provides the summary first, users may have less reason to examine the original results or learn how the underlying information was found.

The way information is presented can therefore affect the way people search for it. A direct answer may save time, but it can also shape what a person thinks is worth investigating next.

Students Are Still Required to Think for Themselves

This becomes particularly important for students, since schoolwork can encourage the use of AI as an easier alternative to working through the research process independently.

A 2024 study from the Philippines interviewed 10 senior high school students about their experiences with AI writing software. The students described AI writing tools as useful for completing writing tasks, improving their work, meeting deadlines, learning proper formatting, and learning new things. At the same time, the study reported concerns about overusing AI writing software, including concerns about reduced critical thinking and receiving incorrect information (Solis & Idul, 2024).

The sample is too small to represent Filipino students generally, but it does highlight a potential issue with incorporating AI into education: students can use it so heavily that it becomes a crutch and makes it harder to think through the research process independently.

This is not only about fact-checking AI. Fact-checking should be part of research in general. Sources should be checked to make sure their claims are supported, their information matches other evidence, and their findings can be verified through additional sources.

AI can provide a rough outline, explain an unfamiliar concept, or serve as a first step. But research should not stop there.

Searching for Information Is Only Half the Battle

Finding an answer can create the illusion that the battle with research has already been won. Discovering information is not the same as knowing whether that information is worth anything.

AI makes information easy to find, digest, and understand. The same systems that make research more accessible can also make it easier to blindly accept information without fact-checking, verifying, or examining its sources.

Research is not dead, but it has changed. AI has added another layer between the information and the researcher. That layer can make things easier, but it can also create a false sense of security: a person may feel that they understand why something is true without knowing where the information came from or what context surrounds it.

The easy path of AI-assisted research is not necessarily a bad one. It can help people find answers, understand unfamiliar subjects, and discover concepts or wording that make difficult information easier to approach. But just because information is easy to obtain does not mean that it is easy to verify.

AI can give answers and make research more accessible. It can provide direction, explain unfamiliar ideas, and point toward concepts worth investigating. What to make of that information, however, is another matter entirely.