For years there has been no contesting Google’s dominance over search engine market – its majority share of users giving it authority and popularity over competitors, such as Microsoft’s Bing. However, this could all have changed with the emergence of ChatGPT, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot with unlimited capabilities, integrated with Bing by OpenAI, the company behind its GPT language models.
This innovation has enabled users to ‘chat’ to Bing in a natural way, making the search engine far more appealing, with many of its initial teething problems now fixed. Google, recognizing this newfound user engagement, rapidly responded with their own AI chatbot, Bard, but it didn’t quite hit the same level of success as Bing and ChatGPT.
This has left Google rattled, having seen internal messages that show fear at Bing’s increased mindshare. Most concerningly, Samsung, who has a deal with Google, which adds roughly $3 billion to its annual revenues, are apparently considering replacing Google as the default search engine on their devices.
To maintain its dominance as the market leader, Google is said to be in the process of creating a ‘Magi’ – an all-new search engine designed to offer a more personalized experience, attempting to anticipate users’ needs. As expected, the company is investing in its own AI tools, but the reports of panic concerning rival Bing and competitors have caused some to worry.
Similar worries have been brought to light during a recent ’60 Minutes’ feature. Google CEO Sundar Pichai told correspondent Scott Pelley in the episode, that the company was holding back on releasing innovative features for its AI tools to do more testing, gather user feedback and develop safety measures.
Ultimately, this competition between the two major search engines could bring about valuable innovation, with Bing’s newfound success likely to push Google out of its comfort zone. Google has firmly held its majority of users, but the fact remains, everyone wants an effective search engine, and if they can find it somewhere else with more attractive features, it could lead to a huge dip in Google’s standing – both in the search engine market and in its financials.
It is clear that Google must remain confident and prepared if it is to continue its reign as industry leader. It has the opportunity to revolutionize how we access information on the web, but it must not rush any of its AI features that may seem revolutionary, as seen with its rushed launch of Bard.
Google must, instead, stay disciplined and take its time developing the all-new Magi search engine, ensuring safety layers and user engagement remain top of mind, as well as seeking the advice of ethicists, philosophers and engineers to shape the ultimate AI search engine.
Google has been a world leader in AI for some time now, thanks to its DeepMind lab, and remains by far the most used search engine. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that Samsung takes up an offer from Microsoft and Bing, however, such a change could cause great disruption, both financially and culturally.
Ultimately, the fight between Google and Microsoft’s Bing could be a blessing in disguise, pushing each company to innovate and bring out new and attractive features in a race to appeal to the tech-savvy market.
Google is a multinational technology company specializing in internet-related services and products. It is best known for its search engine, but also produces other products such as cloud computing, hardware, software, and online advertising technologies.
Sundar Pichai is the Chief Executive Officer of Google and Alphabet Inc. Alongside his role at Google, Pichai acts as a board Member and advisor for several universities and technology companies such as SoftBank Group and the Nature Conservancy. As CEO, Pichai is responsible for the direction of Google’s products, partnerships and technology endeavors, as Google continues to make a prominent mark globally.
