INSIGHT ‘‘ UKeiG Traditional search is dead


January 2026 was the month of the provocative sound bite. Paradigm-shifting AI and Large Language Model (LLM) algorithms have transitioned way beyond simply ‘disruptive’ technology. AI is now “bigger than the internet itself,” proclaimed the Chief Executive of Cisco Systems.


O


UR nostalgic 1990s World Wide Web comfort zone, which we proactively navigated, tamed and catalogued, has left the


room and turned out the lights. On behalf of the UKeiG Management Committee I was honoured last year to announce that Phil Bradley was the worthy recipient of the 2025 Jason Farradane Award, presented in recognition of his outstanding, creative and inspiring contribution to the library, information and knowledge profession. The judging panel was unanimous in its praise of Phil’s forty-year career dedicated to promoting the effective utilisation of digital resources, alongside his unwavering commitment to excellence in information retrieval education and training.


Over four decades Phil enthusiastically embraced and demystified every form of disruptive technology from CD-ROM, through the web, HTML coding and design, social media and AI. In a pre- retirement presentation, he envisaged the death knell of traditional search engines. Google’s slow death. “Nobody wants a list of references anymore, just an answer.” The sticky clickbait, product placement economic model of search tools is transitioning to an enhanced functionality “pro version” subscription model (although ChatGPT recently announced an ad-funded model). Phil announced that “traditional search has died and won’t be coming back”. This quote would make an inspiring and thought-provoking exam question. A subscription model will, of course,


February-March 2026


exacerbate the digital divide; the tech “have and have nots”. A warning sign for us all to keep a weather eye on as the AI juggernaut progresses.


Digital regurgitation


We should also ponder the nature and context of AI “answers”, a regurgitation of the digital data the LLMs are trained on. One pundit recently asked “has the internet has lost its charm?”, “Chatbots don’t think,” said Phil. They don’t know the facts. This is statistical, probabilistic information retrieval, with no knowledge, understanding, sense of irony or empathy. Only we can determine an AI response’s accuracy or imbue it with meaning. Next up for soundbite of the month is Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Liz Kendall on the government’s launch of portfolio of online AI training to upskill ten million or so adults running small businesses or contemplating returning to work. “If we are going to get AI to work for Britain, we need Britons who can work with AI.” This provides proof positive of the immense opportunities we have as a profession to shape the AI literacy agenda.


Too many eggs?


Recent news about the University of Manchester’s initiative to critically engage with AI in teaching, learning and professional services made me ponder on the international landscape. A phased roll out of Microsoft 365 Copilot’s AI powered tools will help 65,000 colleagues and students “boost productivity and


creativity” and support “tasks ranging from web searches to productivity enhancements and customised business processes.”


I’m intrigued at the timing of a strategic collaboration with Microsoft and its 365 Copilot suite during a period when our reliance on US tech is under question. Microsoft applications underpin the library, information and knowledge infrastructure for all of us. Do we have too many eggs in the US tech basket? UKeiG is proud to be presenting on the theme of search usability at CILIP’s Members’ FEST. The impact of AI on the next generation of information science research is so exciting. Human computer interaction in the context of the Generative AI conversational interface, information access and information seeking behaviour, for example. Similarly, the demise of Boolean structured search query formulation versus dialogue-based prompt engineering.


I’ll close on the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s classic quote at Davos in January in response to an increasingly volatile and divisible Trumpian foreign policy. It immediately conjured up the prospects for the library and information community as we juggle with and are potentially marginalised by the profoundly fast-moving dominance of AI and omnipotent big tech. “If we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.” Bravo! It is crucial not to stand on the sidelines. We are still largely observers, not participants. We need to make things happen, not watch things happen. IP


INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 19


The sticky clickbait, product placement economic model of search tools is transitioning to an enhanced functionality ‘pro version’ subscription model.


Gary Horrocks is UKeiG Business Coordinator and Editor of eLucidate(info.ukeig@ cilip.org.uk, @ukeig.bsky.social).


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