Thank you for the kind words!

If I follow you, then you are pointing out that, by generating revenue through promoted search, a business can funnel that revenue into providing benefits to users. Indeed, as you point out, that’s the entire premise of ad-supported services. And I can’t deny those services are useful.

But I’m concerned with the indirect costs. Ads aren’t really free. Users pay with time, attention, and possibly data. Moreover, the ads aren’t free for the sellers, so the cost of advertising presumably passes onto the buyers in the form of higher prices. That’s why I’m not a fan of ad-supported models in general.

But at least in the case of promoted search, the ads should be relevant to an immediate, explicit need and thus aren’t — or shouldn’t be — making users waste time and attention.