In Just Two Years, ChatGPT Has Managed to Do Something No Company Has Done in the Last 20 Years: Present a Viable Challenge to Google
There’s evidence that people are using it instead of traditional search in an increasing number of cases.
Key Survey Findings
- While Google is dominant, consumers use multiple sites to make purchase decisions.
- 44% of U.S. adults have used AI applications at least once (100% of respondents had).
- 77% of survey respondents said it had become easier to find things on Google.
- 57% use AI daily; roughly half of them use it multiple times a day.
- 49% see AI and search as essentially interchangeable.
- 67% think AI will likely replace traditional search engines within three years.
Search Is Fragmenting
It’s important to point out that the often binary discussion of Search vs. AI misses the fact that people have been using numerous other sites for search and discovery for some time.
Search Today Is ‘Much Easier’
The general consensus in the SEO community and tech press is that Google’s search quality has declined for several years.
Search and AI Are ‘Interchangeable’
As mentioned, we disqualified potential respondents who said they’d never used an AI application.
Conclusion: AI Inevitability?
More than two-thirds of these consumers answered “likely” or “very likely” to the question, “Will AI replace search in the next three years?”
FAQs
Q: Is Google still the dominant search engine?
A: Yes, according to the survey, Google is still the dominant search engine, but ChatGPT is presenting a viable challenge.
Q: Is AI replacing search engines?
A: According to the survey, 67% of respondents think AI will likely replace traditional search engines within three years, but Google is still the preferred choice of most respondents.
Q: Will Google remain competitive?
A: Yes, Google is rapidly evolving and leaning on AI to beat back the ChatGPT threat, and the search experience will continue to change profoundly in the future.
Q: Will marketers need to adapt?
A: Yes, marketers will need to be flexible and ready for the changing search landscape, as the customer journey will become even more complex.
