You had to "dig through answers" as in, you got your answer, in the form of a website that you then had to click into and scan for the answer.

AI is far more efficient. I can't tell if you are delusional or just willfully ignorant. Ask a question and in two seconds you have a succinct answer with all of the information that using a search tool (now, and in the past) would provide you.

I also don't disagree that they will 'ruin AI', I'm not defending it or the creators of it in the slightest. I am simply saying it can be an extremely effective tool and it is without a shadow of a doubt better than using a search engine to get the answer to a question.