To Search or To Gen? Design Dimensions Integrating Web Search and Generative AI in Programmers' Information-Seeking Process

Programmers now use both generative AI (GenAI) and traditional web search for information-seeking, yet how these tools are used individually or in combination remains unclear. To answer this, we conducted a multi-phase investigation, including retrospective interviews to identify foraging behaviours and challenges and an observational study with a technology probe to analyze how contextual information flows across tools. Our findings reveal that effective information-seeking requires adaptable strategies and varying levels of contextual detail. Building on these insights, we propose five design dimensions for developing tools that integrate web search, GenAI, and code editors. We further demonstrated the generative power of these design dimensions with a proof-of-concept prototype, validated through a user study, offering actionable design implications for enhancing integrated information-seeking workflows across web search and GenAI in programming.