I was just getting interested in Neeva as a paid search engine with some cool AI tools where you’re not an advertising target because you pay. This explains the sudden refund from Neeva - they apparently got bought out and are no longer being a search engine. I don’t really know what to make of it all.
I suppose it makes my decision between it and Kagi easier - I don’t really have a choice. Kagi is a lot more expensive, but I get work to pay for it. Though that does make it harder to potentially recommend to other people I know.
Not that I ever thought paid search would massively take off, but unlike many tasks, search can be centralized enough on a per user basis that something other than ads is worth exploring.
This and the CEO’s shenanigans made me move to startpage, although I’ve heard that it isn’t great for privacy either.