For years, Google and Bing have dominated the search engine market, with Google having around 89.7% of the overall market share. When people have questions or queries, they instinctively turn to these platforms, sifting through various lists of ranked web pages. However, with AI-driven models, such as ChatGPT, rapidly evolving, we are seeing a shift in how people use the internet to satisfy their search for information. Could AI assistants really become a legitimate competitor to traditional search engines? And if so, how does this impact the overall future for search?

So firstly, what is an AI Search Assistant?

An AI Assistant essentially processes and understands natural language questions and conversational lines, processes this and generates relevant information. It can answer questions, draft content and problem-solve. Information provided can come from public data, licensed sources and the AI model’s training dataset.

It’s also worth noting that voice-based AI assistants already existed before ChatGPT and are used by millions already in everyday life, mostly as home/phone assistants - however most are limited to predefined responses. These include Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Google Assistant.

These AI assistants really kicked off with the rise of ChatGPT. Within just five days of its launch, it had reached over 1 million users. There are now many other AI search assistants like this such as Google Bard (Gemini), Microsoft Copilot, Claude by Anthopic, Perplexity AI, and Meta AI - to name a few. 

All of these now go beyond pre-defined responses and are true conversational AI assistants designed for deep, contextual conversations/commands.

How AI is Changing Search Behaviour

The difference with AI search is that rather than provide a list of web pages for users to navigate, like Google and Bing does, it instead provides direct answers to the user, in a more conversational tone. This allows the user to receive well-structured, summarised responses instantly rather than needing to click through multiple links. This behavioural shift could impact the reliance of traditional search engines, especially when searching for specific information. 

Some key areas where AI is reshaping search include:

Personalised Responses – AI can tailor answers based on context, previous interactions, and user preferences. 

Deeper Understanding – Unlike search engines that rely on keyword matching, AI can understand complex, nuanced queries and deliver more relevant results. 

No Ads, No SEO Manipulation – Users get direct answers without having to scroll past paid ads or clickbait content.

Why Google and Bing Still Have the Edge (For Now)

Despite the power of AI driven search, there are plenty of key strengths that traditional Search Engines still possess. These include:

Transparency: Search engines link directly to sources and give control to the users over verifying the sources and credibility. Users can directly see the source of information where this is not provided with AI searches.

Real-Time Indexing - Search Engines, not limited to just Google and Bing, index millions and millions of web pages per day, and thus the search results are generally up-to-date and in real-time, which AI does not have the capacity to do.

Monetisation - Traditionally business goals are to accrue money, and for the large part Search Engines have fully developed their ad-revenue driving methods. General AI search has yet to do this so is not as self-sufficient as traditional search.

The Future of Search: A Hybrid Approach?

My opinion is that AI models will complement search engines, rather than completely replace them. 

One example of this could be a user relying on AI for a quick answer, but still depending on traditional search for source verification and deeper research insights. 

We have already seen Google implement AI features into its search results, offering direct answers alongside the traditional search query - albeit these results are scraped from specific websites and usually only occur for more direct searches.

What This Means for Users & Businesses

For users: AI can offer quicker and more personalised results, which can answer questions more directly - but keep in mind the credibility of the sources aren’t necessarily verified.

For Companies & Marketers: Content would need to evolve beyond just focusing on pure SEO optimisation, but consideration would need to be made for AI-generated responses too.

For Search Engines(Google, Bing and beyond): The challenge is focusing on maintaining their revenue models through offering adverts, but then also finding a place that AI results can integrate seamlessly - whilst not losing any credibility as a trusted source of information.

Final Thoughts

AI Search is not going to replace/remove traditional Search Engines overnight, but it’s certainly enhancing the landscape of how users navigate. With many companies focusing on developing AI, we will likely see a shift towards a more blended approach where AI and search engines work together rather than competing directly.

What do you think? Will AI eventually take market share from Google and Bing, or will search engines evolve to stay ahead?

Luke Trevillion is Paid Search Manager at PinPoint Media

#AI #ChatGPT #SearchEngines #Google #FutureOfSearch