Before AI was a thing, I tried a few times to post a question on reddit. Something like "Any recommendations for solving X? I've already tried Y, and it didn't work because of Z".
Most of the responses were to try Y, even though I clearly stated I had already tried that.
The others were telling me I was wrong about Z (I wasn't), or silly for even wanting X.
I don't consider AI in its current state a significant downgrade. But it seems inevitable that it will get worse.
Online user groups are falling apart because AI gives better answers, isn't looking for an opportunity to condescend to new users, doesn't try to gatekeep by scaring away new users, and doesn't just point you to the FAQ regardless of if your question is answered in there or not, along with the "XY problem pathological case" you noticed. I think AI is only going to get better (unless they enshittify it intentionally).