I agree. If google can index the entire internet, there's no reason confluence can't index 10 pages by title in the length of time it takes to use the search.
But, my experience is that even when search is good, you need the right query. Take onboarding instructions. Do you search for "new hire", "initial setup", "setup guide", "engineering onboarding", "programmer first steps"?
Or, do you send a link in a welcome email to the right page, and have it pinned on the home page of your project?
Honestly, I think confluence would be better _without_ search.
I don't always want to find a page in response to something else. If I'm looking for a decision document I wrote a year ago, how am I going to do that without search?
But, my experience is that even when search is good, you need the right query. Take onboarding instructions. Do you search for "new hire", "initial setup", "setup guide", "engineering onboarding", "programmer first steps"?
Or, do you send a link in a welcome email to the right page, and have it pinned on the home page of your project?
Honestly, I think confluence would be better _without_ search.