To a large percentage of Internet users, entering something into the Google search bar IS how they go places. (The address bar is a very strange mystery to plenty of people.) That's a big part of why Google is not permitted to act the way they are. They have become more or less the front door to the Internet, and hence, cannot unfairly prioritize their own products over others'.
A big part of why tech users don't understand why Google is being subject to antitrust action is that a lot of people in the tech industry literally have no idea how everyone else uses their computers. Like not understanding that people tend to go to Yelp by Googling "yelp" and clicking the first link. (Which is sadly, usually a malicious Google Ad imitating Yelp, but I digress.)
This behaviour is encouraged by Chrome. The address bar prefers to suggest searches over the user's own history, ensuring that even a website they visit every other day will likely trigger a Google search. Firefox, on the other hand, has a strong bias towards history, allowing the user to go straight to their destination.
Yes I've noticed that this has become a worse experience over time. I used to be able to find previously visited sites easily but now I can't because suggestions take precedence over even exact substring matches of urls.
Should I interpret your comment as helpful ("btw, you can fix that in the settings!") or annoying disregard for the powerful difference between opt-in and opt-out ("there's nothing wrong with bad defaults as long as the option exists to change them!")?
