The world and the web have witnessed significant changes over the years. Since the launch of the World Wide Web in 1993, until the emergence of the generative AI revolution at the end of 2022, many technologies have appeared that have changed our lives. However, the only constant amidst these changes since 1998 is the Google search engine, which has now become essential in our lives. Imagine yourself on a day when you couldn’t find it on your device to ask your questions!
Google is a giant in the search field, with a market share of 92%, while its biggest competitor, Bing from Microsoft, only holds a market share of 3.37%. This vast difference demonstrates Google’s dominance in the market. However, it is now said that artificial intelligence threatens traditional search engines. With Google’s apparent decline and the continuous improvement of tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot, it seems that we are moving towards a new way of searching for and consuming information online.
Recently, new AI-powered search engines have emerged, such as You.com and Perplexity. Even the search giants Google and Microsoft are heavily betting on artificial intelligence as the future of search. So, we can now say goodbye to blue links and welcome direct answers to all our strange questions.
Google is not just a search tool:
We must understand an important fact about search engines: they are not just a means to search for specific information. In addition to searching for accurate scientific information that is difficult to access, a large number of users use Google to access their email, favorite shopping sites, map services, or YouTube. Therefore, Google is not just a search tool, but is used for countless purposes, billions of times daily.
Here is the real challenge facing all search engines that aspire to replace Google. It’s not just about their ability to search for information, but also about their overall performance in all the tasks that Google performs. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to replace Google in its central position on the internet, whether using artificial intelligence or any other method.
Those working in the field of search always say that there are three main types of search queries, the first and most common being the navigational query. In this type, the user types the name of a specific website to access it directly.
This type represents the vast majority of common searches on Google, from accessing YouTube or Facebook to accessing Yahoo Mail. This is the primary function of any search engine: to connect the user to the desired website.
At this point, search engines relying on artificial intelligence cannot be compared to Google at all. When conducting a navigational search on Google, When you conduct a navigational search on Google, the top result typically aligns closely with what you seek. Although displaying numerous results might appear counterintuitive, Google’s direct link to sites like Amazon or others you desire is both efficient and seldom inaccurate.
As for chatbots that rely on artificial intelligence in their operation, they usually take a few seconds to process your request, then provide you with a set of semi-useful information about the site while all you want is a link, and some of them do not even provide a link to the site you are looking for.
In this particular search scenario, the issue with artificial intelligence tools isn’t so much about the supplementary information they offer, but rather the delay in delivering what the user requires. Waiting for 10 seconds to read three generated paragraphs about Amazon’s site while all the user wants is a link to the site represents a major problem for any user. Here you will find that Google is always the winner in this race.
The second type of search is (information search), which covers information about a specific topic, that may have thousands of related results and is more like questions, such as English Premier League results, or What is the weather today, here it does not matter who tells you the result of the temperature, they are just information that needs to be known.
But for real-time information such as sports match results, artificial intelligence cannot be trusted, as in our experience conducting this search through engines like You.com and Perplexity provided us with old information repeatedly, while chatbots like Copilot or Gemini provided correct answers, but Google not only provided us with the correct answer but also displayed a rich interface with additional information and statistics, making it the optimal choice, and the same applies to any query that requires your location or personal context, as Google has this information about you, while AI tools mostly lack it.
The third type of search is (exploration query), and in this type, questions are asked that do not have a specific answer, this type is commonly used in scientific research, self-learning, and searching for new information, and common examples of these questions are: How to tie a tie? Or what is TikTok? what is the best way to learn a new language? Or what are the most important theories in psychology?
These exploratory questions are not the primary use of search engines, but they provide an opportunity for AI-powered search engines to shine, as AI technologies help search engines better understand the context and provide useful and concise content, saving you time.
AI is the right idea, but chatbot interfaces are the wrong choice:
In the case of the third type of search, we can understand that AI is the right idea, as the user in this case, does not want to write their search and get a set of links, but rather wants a specific answer to the question. However, at the same time, chatbot interfaces are the wrong solution because they are too slow – taking some time to process the request – so they cannot compete.
The matter requires focus on the product, not the technology:
The biggest challenge lies in developing the product more than the technology. Everyone, including Google, agrees on the ability of artificial intelligence to improve search engine understanding of questions and information processing. This has become accepted in this field now.
But does Google have the ability to reinvent search result pages, business models, and ways of presenting and summarizing information faster than artificial intelligence companies can develop chatbots to be more complex and diverse? Now, ten links are no longer the perfect answer to a search, and the multipurpose text box used in chatbots is also not enough.
Search is the essence of everything, so it requires more advanced products than chatbots to overcome Google. The future requires essential innovations in products to meet the changing needs of users.