The recent surge of generative AI tools like ChatGPT have sparked the question whether or not they have the potential to outshine Google and take their place as the leading search engine. While this nominates Microsoft as their main rival, ChatGPT and Google have actually joined forces by launching a similar service called Bard. Google has made it quite clear that this would be an addition to search, not a replacement.
Individuals have become quite interested in using ChatGPT to become more efficient in their tasks and get what they need but businesses are still uncertain on how to make use of such generative AI models. Generative models such as ChatGPT may be useful in pitching certain ideas or expressing language perfectly, but they lack the factual base and understanding of how the world works, which is necessary for applications that involve more clarity. This is where search engines take place.
Search engines are all about getting information you need quickly and effectively while generative AI models, such as ChatGPT, may give results that comprehend the same ideas but do not represent the same accuracy. Search engines return already existing material and provide links to sources that validate the content, while generative AI models create responses based on the language used in their training data and its rules without providing any means of verifying the provenience of the content.
However, a combination of both can provide a powerful and well-rounded approach. By using a partnership between search engines and ChatGPT, users can generate responses from accurate and up-to-date information from the search engine, that is expressed through the natural language of the generative AI model. The content fed into the model will determine the accuracy of the response. With the help of an intelligent search, ChatGPT can access corporate content with security, scoping only information that the employee is allowed to access, and providing enterprise with the much-needed awareness of corporate knowledge.
In conclusion, the capabilities of generative AI models such as ChatGPT are seemingly endless, altering the way in which both individuals and companies interact with information. That being said, an accurate source of concise and relevant knowledge is just as important in order to guarantee trustworthiness and accuracy, and that is something that only search engine can provide.
Ulf Zetterberg is co-CEO of Sinequa, an enterprise search provider that offers its services to organizations, such as helping them obtain better search results. His company has insight on the current importance of search engine in the enterprise and how it can be used to maximize the use of generative AI tools.
