Microsoft’s recent integration of OpenAI’s technology into Bing has proved to be a major advantage in its search engine battle with Google, resulting in up to 15.8 percent page visits growth compared to a near 1 percent decline for Google since February 2021.
Experts agree, this development has created a “rare opportunity” for the Windows maker, giving it a chance to become a major player in the highly profitable $120-billion search engine market – presently dominated by Google with a market share exceeding 80%.
Data analytics firm Similarweb confirms the strengthening of Bing’s position in the market thanks to the ChatGPT chatbot, a development heralded by many AI professionals as the “iPhone moment of AI”.
Gil Luria, analyst at D.A. Davidson & Co, says that by converting 1-2 percent of users to Bing, it could be a turnover point for the lesser-known search engine.
On the other hand, Google, who largely replaced Yahoo as the top search engine in the early 2000s, may still drive back Microsoft’s gain with their own AI technologies. Both companies are now rivals in the AI race, with Google having only just released its public version of Bard (the chatbot) this Tuesday.
As with page visits, data from the app research firm Data.ai reveals immense growth for Bing in terms of app downloads – up to eightfold globally – compared to a 2 percent decrease for Google in the same period.
Microsoft, a global leader in providing technology solutions, has been in the industry for over 40 years now. Founded as Micro-Soft in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft is one of the world’s leading tech behemoths, with companies and products like Azure, Office 365 and Windows available to millions across the globe.
Gil Luria on the other hand is the lead analyst at D.A. Davidson & Co. He has seen immense success due to his insights which get published in The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox Business, and various other established publications. He is also a regular guest on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and Fox Business. He was awarded the Top Analyst accolade by Bloomberg Magazine in 2019.