Google and OpenAI take action! Global technology companies are competing to launch AI search engines! What's the difference?
Author：Eve Cole
Update Time：2025-02-09 14:00:03
Recently, there have been frequent moves in the field of AI search internationally. How much impact will AI search have on the traditional search engine business? How is its user experience different?
CNBC Jiang Yu : On the day OpenAI launched its “AI search function” at the end of October, the stock price of traditional search engine provider Google fell by about 1%. What is the difference between the user experience of AI search and traditional search?
In the demonstration video released by OpenAI, the user can enter the AI search mode after clicking on the network icon. Later, when the user asks "Help me design a plan for a self-driving trip along the Italian coast", ChatGPT will generate an image-text combination The plan introduces routes, highlights, meals, accommodation and other information, and some information will be accompanied by original links. If users are interested in a certain point, they can click on the link to enter the original website to read in detail, and can also continue to ask questions and let the dialogue continued.
OpenAI says this enables users to search in a more natural and intuitive way. Compared with the original chat robot, the source of information searched by AI is no longer limited to a certain point in time, but can obtain network information in real time and provide original links to facilitate users to further verify the information.
At present, many technology giants and startups are exploring the field of AI search. It is reported that Google has recently expanded its artificial intelligence overview function to more than 100 countries, and Facebook parent company Meta is also developing its own artificial intelligence solutions.
Another player that cannot be ignored in the field of AI search is Silicon Valley startup PerplexityAI, whose valuation has soared to US$9 billion recently. Its CEO pointed out in an interview with CNBC that with the launch of AI search, users' search habits have changed.
Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI in the United States : Each user query on PerplexityAI contains an average of 10 to 11 words, while queries on Google usually only have 2 to 3 words. This means Users’ intentions are clearer when querying on AI search, and users can ask more precise questions.
The next big question is how to make money. Traditional search engines mainly rely on advertising revenue. Advertisers bid to buy keywords searched by users and pay according to users clicking on advertising links. But one of the reasons why users favor AI search is that they don’t have to see a lot of ads in search results. However, the operating costs of AI search are much higher than traditional search, which poses profitability challenges. How to achieve commercialization, the industry is now exploring different paths.
OpenAI has made it clear that it currently has no plans to place ads on ChatGPT, and it is expected to still generate revenue by charging subscription fees for premium users and enterprise users. PerplexityAI, on the other hand, "goes hand in hand" with advertising and subscription. Although advertising is introduced, they still hope to keep the answers accurate and true. The specific method is to present a series of recommended questions related to the original question after answering the user's query. One of them is The two questions may be sponsored. This form of advertising will only appear when the user has obvious commercial intentions, so as to avoid disturbing the user's experience and provide display opportunities for advertisers.
It is worth noting that there are still many controversies about AI search. First of all, for the content industry, whether it is large media organizations or niche content creators, the traffic they receive from traditional search may be reduced.
SmartTech Research’s analysis pointed out that although AI searches will attach the original link, users’ actual click behavior is very small, and more information will be obtained directly from the AI’s answers. And if users no longer click on the original source, content creators may have a hard time monetizing their work.
