Maybe not a way to 'beat' them per se, but I wonder if support could be a good differentiator for some companies here? Silicon Valley companies, especially the FAANG ones, treat customer support as an afterthought at best, with Google and co doing everything in their power not to try and automate all of it.
If you don't have a need to expand to everyone in the world in the chase for infinite growth, having a company that's actually possible to get in contact with can be valuable in many areas, especially if your customers are large corporations or those willing to pay more for the privilege.
Similarly, see Kagi and their paid search offering. It's clear there's money to be made there, but it likely won't be enough to appeal to venture capitalists and FAANG companies, so that gives them something of a unique selling point/market.
A lot of VC is a Ponzi scheme. I don't think "venture scale" is a real thing. It's more or a gimmick to sell to the next sucker down the rounds. I think it is overall healthy for the real world to have real companies.
I'm at a small scrappy little startup where the founders handle calls/emails/zooms and interact with the customers directly for any and all support issues. It absolutely makes a difference. Is it THE difference? Probably not, but it is A difference that customers definitely appreciate.
If you don't have a need to expand to everyone in the world in the chase for infinite growth, having a company that's actually possible to get in contact with can be valuable in many areas, especially if your customers are large corporations or those willing to pay more for the privilege.
Similarly, see Kagi and their paid search offering. It's clear there's money to be made there, but it likely won't be enough to appeal to venture capitalists and FAANG companies, so that gives them something of a unique selling point/market.