A recent survey conducted by Evercore ISI revealed that Google's dominance in the online search market may be facing a challenge from ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by OpenAI. The survey of 1,000 people found that ChatGPT was the top search provider for 5% of respondents, up from 1% in June. Millennials were identified as the primary drivers of this adoption.
Despite ChatGPT's gains, Google still remains the dominant player in the search market. However, Google's search share did slip slightly from June to November, with 78% of respondents choosing Google as their first choice, down from 80% in June. This slight decrease may not seem significant, but controlling access to online information is a lucrative business that fuels Google's ad revenue and profits.
Generative AI features, such as ChatGPT, are changing how people access digital information and are challenging Google's status as the internet's gatekeeper. OpenAI's full search feature for ChatGPT, launched in October, poses a direct challenge to Google, along with a deal with Apple that features ChatGPT on many iPhones.
While ChatGPT may have surpassed Google in certain scenarios, such as helping with specific skills or tasks, writing, coding, and productivity, Google still remains far ahead overall. Google's release of Gemini, a ChatGPT-like helper, and AI Overviews, a feature that uses generative AI to summarize search results, have been well-received by users.
In terms of commercial searches, where people are looking to make purchases, Google's dominance remains strong. This suggests that Google's revenue growth from search is likely to remain stable for the time being. While ChatGPT's gains are notable, Google's revenue from search queries is still unmatched, highlighting the challenges ChatGPT faces in the search market.