Will Google soon be replaced by Gen AI?

I still remember vividly the day when touchscreen mobile phones were introduced over 20 years ago, specifically in 2007 when the late Apple founder and CEO, Steve Jobs, went on stage and introduced the the touch screen with the first iPhone.

Many found it strange at that time; some of the tech business leaders (including Microsoft’s then CEO Steve Ballmer) laughing out loud and stating that the phone was expensive so as useless for the business community, let aside personal use (for consumers); nevertheless, the reality is, it was a moment that redefined the tech industry and our interaction with devices.

Fast forward today, almost every mobile phone, let aside tablets and other user-interactive gadgets, have touch screen embedded as the main user interface. That innovation has not only set a new standard for smartphones (and handheld gadgets as a whole) but has also paved the way for a wide range of touch-enabled devices too. Look at the mobile phone you (and smart wearabes) that you are using today. Yes, proof is in the pudding. I see generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI), for example the ChatGPT, replicating the same effect with the traditional search engines of the likes of Google. Deja vu it is!

OpenAI’s ChatGPT introduction is indeed a groundbreaking moment in the field of artificial intelligence, because it showcases an unprecedented leap in conversational capabilities. A new level of sophistication to human-machine interactions, enabling more natural, coherent, and context-aware dialogues too. This is the outcome of this new innovative AI solution. ChatGPT (unlike a traditional chatbot) has the ability to understand and generate human-like text across a wide array of topics. Try it yourself and see the magic before your own eyes. Sooner or later and at an impressive speed, many functions and industries will integrate AI into their fabric. One cannot deny that ChatGPT’s remarkable advancements in AI technology will surely sparkle excitements about the future possibilities of human-AI collaboration. Yes, smart robots too will be living in our homes and probably be part of the families as well.

So how will a generative AI (such as ChatGPT) replace a traditional search engine like Google? I will tell you. Open a browser, and head to google.com website, and type a search in the textbox. Do the same with ChatGPT. Do you see the difference in terms of the output of the result and the level of interaction it has with you?

Google will produce flat results of links to sites (stored from the massive database of records it has), while ChatGPT will be more like a human sharing the results to you (yes, some may not be totally accurate for now). Nevertheless, the style, the approach, the user-interface and the comfort is definitely better. What does this say? Future is brighter for the Gen AI (Generative AI) but riskier for the traditional search engines (unless they pull their socks and fasten their seatbelt with the innovations in place), that includes the possibility of integrating AI into their technology fabric as well.

The retrieval of data (digital information) is evolving rapidly – thanks to AI’s massive revolution. The way we search and interact online is no longer the same, and this will continue to ultimately evolve. Artificial intelligence, particularly machine learning and natural language processing (NLP), has significantly enhanced search engines ability to understand and process queries. What traditional search engines do is basically provide results based on indexing and retrieval capabilities of data stored on their massive database systems across data center around the world. Microsoft has integrated AI into their search engine (BING) and Google too have followed suit with its BERT; nevertheless, the majority of people do not seem to be using them as opposed to Open AI’s ChatGPT, simply because that’s how they have been used to be doing with traditional search engines, needless to mention the quality output that ChatGPT has in store (in comparison).

While it may be a bit early to see Google disappear like how Blackbery, Nokia and the infamous Windows Phones did with Apple and Android, but the pattern and picture is clear. The race of one approach or technology to win the other is on, and unless there is some kind of synergy between the two, I see Gen AI taking over traditional search engines sooner or later. Time will tell if my anticipation based on historical feat is noteworthy. Until then, stay positive and continue winning.