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If they have a great meta-search algorithm, users would be able to search without an account and see how great the results are. Then, when a user wants to personalize ranking and block sites, they can create an account.

I always assumed that they make you create an account to track search usage and cut you off once you hit the free tier limit.

Are there any good lists of known AI user agents? Ideally in a dependency repo so my server can get the latest values when the list is updated.

It would be a nice gesture, but I will believe those promises of support when they have teeth to them.

What happens if they stop doing it? Do I have to sue them for breach of contract, have to prove actual damages, and settle the class action lawsuit for $5 in store credit?

What happens if the company goes bankrupt or creates a new subsidiary to service the product and the subsidiary folds?

What level of support are they obligated to provide? What issues must be fixed and how promptly?

I would assume some of that is acqui-hiring. Google acquires a company and looks at which employees are the outstanding talent. The best employees are poached for projects Google cares about while the rest are left to keep the product going without the thought leaders who built it.

I would go a step further and say that it should not be a stock purchase but partial nationalization. The government is not getting shares that will be sold later. The government is getting a right to appoint part of the board of directors. Every time the company issues a dividend, buys back stock, or engages in other activities to return value back to the shareholders, a proportional amount of money must be paid to the treasury. It only makes sense that if a company is so big that its failure is going to hurt society as a whole, it should be owned by society.