Wow, that was a red pill. Everything suddenly makes sense. I always thought it only was machine learning that messed it up.
How to replace Google as default search in your browsers (tested on Windows).
Firefox -> Hamburger menu -> Settings -> Search
Chrome -> Kebab menu -> Hamburger menu -> Search engine
Edge -> Meatballs menu -> Privacy, search and services -> Services | Address bar and search
It says something about the state of UX in 2024 when the three major browsers have different icons for the app menu.