Should Google be worried about ChatGPT replacing search engines?
With ChatGPT having been available online for nearly a month now, the early scenes of euphoria have died down. However, although many of the shouts of the revolutionary technology may have seemed like hyperbole at the time, more considered voices have started discussing the potentially revolutionary technology including analysts who have been exploring whether AI generative text bots could challenge traditional search engines. Let’s take a look at what they are saying.
Investment analysts at Seeking Alpha have taken note of a recent drop in Alphabet’s (Google’s parent company) stock price, which they believe could be down to the threat posed by ChatGPT.
The OpenAI chatbot has made a name for itself by being able to provide straightforward answers to questions, however, it still falls short in certain areas when compared to Google search.
One area where ChatGPT struggles is in news and product searches. Google search remains the go-to destination for these types of queries, as it is able to deliver more comprehensive and accurate results. In many instances, the responses generated by ChatGPT are not factually correct while Google has decades of experience in measuring user response to content it serves up on its search engine, meaning it is able to effectively present the most effective and trustworthy results. Therefore, it seems that the degree of "disruption threat" posed by ChatGPT to Google has been overstated.
However, the analysts at Seeking Alpha highlight a potential risk for the search giant in the context of a new and potentially revolutionary technology bursting onto the scene.
Having been so successful for so long, it's possible that Google has become less careful with spending and less bold in risk-taking compared to its competitors. This could potentially become a problem in the long term if the company doesn't adapt and stay ahead of the curve. There is a lot of wiggle room here for Google to keep stay of new upstarts like OpenAI, but it has to continue working hard to maintain its position.
Overall, then, while ChatGPT has made a strong showing in the field of question answering, it still has a long way to go before it can truly pose a significant threat to Google's dominance in search. However, it's important for Google to remain vigilant and continue to innovate in order to stay ahead of the game.
Thanks @Patrick for the article. Also good 2023 for you an for every Ghacks reader! :]
There is no AI. At the moment at least, nothing qualifies as AI. It’s just a meme buzzword propagated by normies. There is only machine learrning, and it can only learn whatever you feed it. Feed it lies, and it will happily lie to you in the form of a truthful response to your queries.
+1
is humans any different?
Hybrid. Is it reasonable to imagine Google and other search engines combining “traditional” search with a ChatGBT section similar to ‘Web – Images – Videos – News” etc.?
Google (Alphabet) has been committed to IA for years. I cannot imagine the company being surprised by ChatGBT, they must have similar projects, if so why postponing, too early? Or is it that ChatGBT is superior to anything Google is able to achieve at this time? Naive questions perhaps.
One thing seems sure : if the search concept gets tied to IA then the new concept is definitely revolutionary. It would no longer be searching for but finding, textually.
Anyone who thinks they don’t have secrets AI projects is naive. They even made LaMDA public in a limited manner.
Since Google results are total garbage now, I hope so.
…accurate results….
Seriously? That’s an oxymoron. Google and accurate do not go together in the same sentence. Google is the most censored, least trustworthy search engine on the planet, seconded by Bing. If I wanted to learn something new today I would not go to google, certainly not if I wanted the truth.
I completely agree, please enlighten us and save me :O
any alternative?
Open
Source
G will integrate any and all OpenAI tech into their algorithms given a little time.
everybody know (or should know) that google origins lies within U.S. intelligence community.
Invest in google = invest in CIA/ NSA
https://mronline.org/2022/07/27/national-security-search-engine/
Given that knowledge, why would anyone trust search results promoted by such organization?
Agree with previous comments here.
Internet users need is objective search engine that does not lie within U.S intelligence community, as google does.
I think google will be replaced, eventually, or dumped as leading search engine.
google next yahoo
once you lost people’s trust, you cannot get it back.