Search Race: Is ChatGPT Threatening Google's Throne?

The Internet search market is witnessing an interesting shift, as ChatGPT is gradually becoming a formidable 'emerging competitor' to the giant Google. According to a report from Evercore last week, the percentage of users using ChatGPT to search for information has increased from 1% in June to 5% this month. Who is behind this trend? The Millennials (those born between 1981-1996), who 'have their hands' on modern digital habits.

While Google still commands 78% of the market, down slightly from 80% in June, the shift is shaking up its advertising business model, which is its moneymaker. It may not sound like much, but controlling how people discover information online is key in the tech game.

 

Microsoft Bing, which has a modest 4% market share, still rakes in billions of dollars every year. But look at ChatGPT's progress – a breakthrough that shows the power of generative AI is gradually eroding Google's monopoly. Since OpenAI upgraded ChatGPT with full search functionality in late October and partnered with Apple, the tech landscape has gotten a few more vibrant colors.

Evercore's survey found that when searching for products and prices, ChatGPT outperformed Google by 4 percentage points. Of course, Google didn't sit still: it launched Gemini, its super-smart AI assistant, along with AI Overviews, a promising search results summary tool. And the good news is that 71% of users rated the new experience highly.

So where does the money go? While general information queries skew toward ChatGPT, Google still retains its commercial turf and huge advertising revenue. Analyst Mark Mahaney says that even a 1% share of the search market could generate $2 billion in annual revenue—but only if the platform is as efficient at monetizing as Google, which ChatGPT and similar platforms have yet to achieve.

How exciting will the 'search wars' continue to be? Only time will tell, but it's clear that the tech scene is getting more and more exciting and full of surprises.