[jknoepfler]

Eyeballs are not Google's customers, paying advertisers are Google's customers.

If a paying customer gives Google money to point eyeballs to turds, it points eyeballs to turds (this is how Google makes money today, it is the business model for search). The problem with SEO isn't that it degrades search, it's that SEO users aren't paying customers and don't make Google any money (and compromises Google's ability to direct eyeballs to paying customers).

This is classical "enshitification" - offer a service for free to capture eyeball share, then offer a paid service to companies that capitalizes on that eyeball share but compromises the "eyeball experience" (and then in the endgame, squeeze companies that become dependent upon the eyeball-platform to serve shareholders).