Google has been quite publicly freaking out since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, but things got more serious last fall, when OpenAI released ChatGPT Search, a direct competitor to Google Search.
This has become a real enough threat to Google that the number of Google searches in Safari fell for the first time ever in April.
Google also recently saw its share of the search market dip below 90 percent for the first time in a decade, as AI search takes off.
Instead of plugging keywords into the old Google search box, I’ve been entering complex queries and getting back detailed reports.
(It’s currently only available for people who subscribe to Google AI Plus or AI Ultra plans or for people running beta versions of Chrome.)
I came to a realization somewhere in between using Google’s new AI moviemaking tool to make cartoons of my 4-pound Chihuahua fighting crime and asking the company’s sophisticated AI to explain in detail how to become an expert birdwatcher in my neighborhood. I’m having a midlife crisis, or Google is. It might be both. .
When OpenAI released ChatGPT Search, a direct rival to Google Search, last fall, things became more serious. Google had been publicly freaking out since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. At its I/O developer conferences last week, Google unveiled 100 new initiatives, the majority of which focused on artificial intelligence. Suddenly, a new story emerges: According to one industry expert, the search giant is undoubtedly experiencing a midlife crisis, and “it’s glorious.”.
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After experimenting with Google’s new AI tools for the past week, I can say with confidence that the company is in a transitional phase between crisis and glory. Before we know which route prevails, it might take years.
It’s unclear which business will rule the future or how humans will engage with AI as it permeates every aspect of our digital lives.
But the greatest danger to Google’s hegemony may not come from the government. As more people rely on ChatGPT and Perplexity to find information online, artificial intelligence has been eroding the web’s foundation over the past few years. These AI chatbots retrieve data from websites and provide you with a concise synopsis. This is now a serious enough threat to Google that, in April, there were fewer Google searches in Safari than ever before. As AI search gains traction, Google recently saw its market share fall below 90% for the first time in ten years. TikTok is also not assisting.
Google has been attempting to reimagine itself in light of this reality since realizing it a few years ago. A few years back, it introduced AI Overviews, which are condensed versions of search results produced by Google’s massive language model, Gemini. Then, earlier this year, Google developed AI Mode, a chatbot-powered search experience that looked a lot like ChatGPT and Perplexity and was also powered by Gemini. Just look for a glittery button that reads “AI Mode” on the right-hand side of the search field. The company said last week that AI Mode will be available to all Americans in the upcoming weeks. “”.
For the past week, I’ve been attempting to learn how to birdwatch using AI Mode. I’ve been entering sophisticated queries and receiving comprehensive reports in place of entering keywords into the outdated Google search box. AI Mode returned almost 600 words from a single three-sentence prompt. There were only nine links to sources, and the chatbot had already summarized the information, so I didn’t need to click on any of them. It was only after doing some research that I discovered that Allie Volpe, a colleague at Vox, wrote a beginner’s guide to birdwatching, which was one of the primary sources for this summary.
This search experience isn’t always fantastic, just like other AI chatbots. These new search tools are often unreliable because the technology relies on large language models, which are prone to hallucinations. You aren’t always required to verify the results, though, because AI often produces very convincing copy. As more people turn to AI chatbots for information instead of the internet, publishers are witnessing sharp drops in Google traffic. It’s faster, I discovered from my research on birds. Furthermore, it’s not always true what you find when you click on a blue link.
This is likely how search will develop in the future, and no, a list of blue links is not likely to be a part of it.
The future of search is likely to look like this, and no, a list of blue links is not likely to be a part of it. The sheer volume of Google’s recent announcements indicates that artificial intelligence (AI) is the direction we’re going, even though you’ll still be able to use the classic search experience for a while. The news’s headlines conveyed the seriousness of the situation. Platformer’s Casey Newton reported from Google’s developer conference that “everything is changing and normal and scary and chill.”. Thanks to Google, tech analyst Ben Thompson proclaimed “the death of the ad-supported web.”. In a more direct statement, John Herrman of New York magazine stated: “Google is burying the web alive.”. “”.
During the chaotic early days of the internet, Google gained popularity by making the daunting task of searching for information online easier, as Geoffrey A. As Fowler notes. There is much less certainty about its dominance in this new AI-powered future. Perhaps this time around, a new startup will make things easier so you can have an easy-to-use bot make movies, book travel, and explain things to you.
I’ll be working on refining my AI-generated Chihuahua cartoon that fights crime in the interim, wondering when this will all start to feel beautiful.
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