While generally true, this isn't necessarily true if the customization is well-layered and the user is at a dead end in their search journey.

Too many products equate frictionless == featureless these days and there should be more power when the user needs it.

That's why we built a search extension that improves upon Google specifically in ways that it's weak https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30725933 http://abhinavsharma.com/blog/google-alternatives