Today I did a small experiment. I was looking for a list of modern day performers who record music from the early 20th Century, i.e. 1910s-1930s. I pasted that query into Google and got a response labeled as “AI Overview.” I’m not sure if this is the same as Gemini. When I’ve clicked on the Gemini icon in the past, I’ve been asked to create a paid account. Copilot (Microsoft’s AI) is free. So I’m comparing free AI to free AI.

Google produced the following:

Many contemporary performers, particularly those specializing in genres like jazz, blues, and swing, often record music from the 1920s and 1930s. This includes tributes, arrangements, and even reinterpretations of classic songs and styles. It’s a common practice within the music world to both preserve and celebrate the sounds of these decades.

It went on longer, but it did NOT name any performers, which I specifically asked for. Copilot, on the other hand, not only had a similar response, but it went on to name half a dozen or so modern performers that do music in the style of that era, including The Hot Sardines and Postmodern Jukebox, both groups I hadn’t heard of. I bought a song of the latter and put one of the former on a streaming favorite list. I pasted the exact same query into both, so I give Copilot the clear win in this case. I’ve also found it to be superior in other searches. It may be time to stop using Google as the default search engine.