Comment by 10ren

I agree. It's not low-hanging fruit, and I wouldn't recommend a start-up going against them. Google being intimidatingly good deters potential competitors is a competitive advantage (worth remembering for one's own startup...) - but it's also rational for them to be intimidated.

But research, pre-startup, might reveal better search.

However, thinking in terms of Innovator's Dilemma, most search technologies would be "sustaining" technologies, which Google as a well-managed leader could buy, copy, re-discover or invent around and keep their lead. It's so-called "disruptive" technologies that would cause them problems (which aren't dangerous because they're better, but because they're different in their benefits) - but these are a problem for any company. So Google's position is no more tenuous than any other company's.