So the researchers decided to see if it could be reversed.
Keep it in general
The easiest way to change the dynamics of this was simply to change the results returned by the search. Therefore, the researchers conducted many experiments that gave the same results to all participants regardless of the search term they used. If everyone gets the same results, their opinions after reading them tend to move in the same direction, suggesting that search results will help people change their views.
The researchers also sought to give everyone a wide range of neutral search results regardless of the terms they entered. This undermined the probability that beliefs would last through the process of search formulation and execution. In other words, by avoiding focused, biased search term types, some participants were able to see information that could change their minds.
Despite all the swapping, participants continued to rated the search results relevantly. Therefore, even when people were looking for more focused information, providing more general search results does not seem to harm people’s perceptions of services. In fact, Leung and Urminsky have found that the AI version of Bing Search reconstructs narrow questions into more general questions.
That said, making this kind of change is not without risk. Search has many subject areas You shouldn’t Please return a wide range of information. Grab a variety of ideas, and people can be exposed to fringes and false information.
Nevertheless, it’s not harmful to know how to use a search service to enhance bias. Thus, in Leung and Urminsky’s words, “If a search engine provides narrower search results in directions according to narrower search terms for users, the results reflect the existing beliefs of the user, instead of encouraging belief updates by providing a broad spectrum of relevant information.”
pnas, 2025. doi: 10.1073/PNAS.2408175122 (About DOI).
