OpenAI’s search engine SearchGPT is finally available to users of the paid version of ChatGPT, and it didn’t take long for social media to be flooded with apocalyptic tombstone posts: “Here lies Google”, “The end of Google”,… But be careful not to bury Google too quickly.
While Google remains the world’s dominant search engine, people are turning to Amazon to search for products (>50 per cent first search), Instagram to stay updated on trends and finally TikTok overtakes Google as most popular search engine among Gen Z.
As the digital world continues growing, the ways to find information is expanding.
What is the new landscape?
The fierce
For numerous consumers, Amazon has become the preferred online retailer, often being the first stop for product searches, bypassing traditional search engines like Google. The key distinction lies in Amazon’s less complex algorithm compared to Google’s.
Amazon’s algorithm focuses on product relevance and sales potential, in contrast to Google’s algorithm much more complicated, constantly updated, and aiming to understand what users want, the context, and the meaning behind a wide range of searches.
With the success of their Retail Media offering and sponsored ads, Amazon is already taking a sizeable market share on search budgets dedicate to promote products (instead going to Google shopping/Pmax,/Search/text).
Our classic share of Google paid search budgets are moving towards Retail media, 6 in 10 (59.3 per cent) marketers worldwide plan to increase retail media search ad spend this year, according to Emarketer.
Brands are considering paid search advertising on both search engines and retailer websites, especially because the searches on those retailer websites tend to be from people with intent to purchase.
The social
More and more young people are using TikTok’s powerful algorithm — which personalises the videos shown to them based on their interactions with content — discover information that aligns closely with their preferences. That tailoring comes with a sense that real people on the app are curating and sharing information, rather than wordy websites.
A proof point that this might be concerning for Google is the launch of TikTok search ads (US only for now).
Advertisers now have the opportunity (US only) to pay the placement ‘search results’. However, the comparison with Google ends there. TikTok users typically have a more passive mindset and are open to discover new content, unlike Google users who usually have a specific intent or purpose when conducting searches.
On the other hand the market is in ‘explore mode’, will this format/placement be a complement of TikTok social budgets or will it be entirely different. Furthermore, this will also trigger question on the ‘search video result’ in terms of content and brand suitability.
Finally will it be campaigns to promote within and stay on Tiktok app environment? (completing the loop with TikTok shops?)
AI-driven conversational search
ChatGPT has 200 million users worldwide; but only 1 million, those in the paid version, currently have access to SearchGPT. We are counting on the fact that the ChatGPT search engine will soon be open to the 200 million users of OpenAI’s LLM.
The main revolution is moving from search query=result to search query=result=conversation AI conversational answers.
SearchGPT raises a lot of expectations, particularly because of its ability to provide sourced, real-time generative answers. Some speak of a revolution and already see him as a “Google killer. However, the experience seems very basic so far despite some answers enriched with maps or graphs. In short, we are far from the standards established by Google.
That said, now that SearchGPT can provide sourced answers based on real-time updated data, the question of SEO for ChatGPT becomes relevant. We can reasonably expect that the OpenAI search engine will develop and a whole new area will open up for SEOs. We would also need to consider that AI tailor our answers build on our “profile” of interaction
However, this expansion is not without risks for publishers, whose organic traffic could further erode. Will we click on the sources of the generative answers? Already, more than 60% of searches on Google generate no clicks. If search engines favor direct answers without clicks, websites will have to be more ingenious and explore new content strategies to remain visible.
Back to the facts : ‘Google search activity has reached unprecedented levels’.
Google is a massive ecosystem, integrated into the daily lives of 4 billion individual and professional users, powered by an unparalleled quantity of data which allows it to finely personalise search experiences. Its lead in terms of understanding search habits is immense. It is also a global database of companies, capable of providing precise answers to local searches and in mobility situations.
Based on a study from Fishkin’s using clickstream data from Datos, owned by SaaS platform Semrush, searches per searcher are rising for since Sep 2022.
However, based on a research from Aberdeen group asking which tool are they willing to use to find information in the future, a large majority of respondants (42 per cent) reply they will look for answers from AI Powered chatbots (conversational) and 24 per cent only on tradition search engines.
This trend tends to be confirmed by Forbes, where 37 per cent declare very likely to use ChatGPT instead of Google, and 67 per cent combining very likely and somewhat likely.
For more than 25 years, Google has been firmly anchored in our search habits. It is no longer a habit; it is a research reflex – a reflex that is difficult to dethrone.
However in a world that was composed by users searching for answers or at least the ability to easily have pointers to our questions.
Nowadays, the search users’ behaviours changed, and they look on how to optimise their real-world experiences. “see before they go”, “Do you know someone who is?”, “have you seen the latest drama”…this search curiosity is coming from craving the consumption of content and not necessarily anymore text/articles, but actual video content, POV on that matter from someone we are following, reactions from the social community …
This makes it essential for brands and platforms to adapt to this changing landscape especially after years without any major challenges or challengers. Advertisers and agencies need to gear up to have a multi search approach than reducing it to Google ecosystem exclusively.
The question, ultimately, is not whether Google will be overthrown, but to understand how search practices and access to information will evolve in this new era of behaviours and AI.
The rules are changing, and those who can adapt will have a head start.
by David Do Rosario, Head of Digital, Havas Middle East
