The Search Engine Wars Are Back On

In June 2000, Google announced that it had won the search wars. “Google will now provide the default search service for Yahoo!” wrote founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page with a very 2000 sign-off: “Keep on Googlin’.” Over the nearly 25 years since, that’s what everyone did, turning Google into a $2 trillion company. Google took control of the most valuable thing on the internet — the box that people ask for stuff — and guarded it.

Over the past two decades...