My view is Google was not abettersearchengine but the guys talked a much superior story about relevance, at a point in the search narrative when it really, really mattered to show relevance.
There is no reason to think that a new, bettersearchengine could not eventually overtake Google just as it came from obscurity to dominate the search market.
But people briefed on the initiative said that if the searchenginebetter understands the meaning or intent behind people's search queries, Google could find a way to show them more relevant ads.