Is this the start of the end of the Google era? This question is very common nowadays.
We’re on the verge of a historical paradigm shift driven by the latest technological advancements in generative AI. The introduction of next-generation AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT has taken the internet by storm. The rate at which ChatGPT is becoming popular these days is unprecedented. No other tool or technology has gained popularity with as much speed as ChatGPT ever.
Hence, rumors are now spreading that ChatGPT would be ultimately the killer of Google, the world’s most used search engine with billions of users. Thousands of tweets, stories, blog posts, and headlines are flooding the internet every day about how ChatGPT can change the way people use the internet or search for information online.
To find out whether ChatGPT is a real threat to Google or is it an overrated bubble, we have conducted a detailed comparison of both these sites. Let’s get started!
A Quick Look at Google vs. ChatGPT
We all are familiar with Google. Being the world’s most popular and widely used search engine, Google handles more than 8.5 billion searches every day. As of January 2022, Google was the leader of the global search engine market having a market share of 92.58%. It is estimated that nearly half of the online product searches begin with Google.
Now, let’s talk about ChatGPT, a revolutionary AI chatbot released by OpenAI in November 2022. Surprisingly, within just one week of its launch, ChatGPT gained over a million users, the fastest by any tool, new invention, or technology ever in history. So far, several leading tech organizations including Microsoft have integrated ChatGPT for improved user experiences.
In response to ChatGPT’s rapid popularity, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai also issued code red and advised his teams to ramp up the company’s research on AI. Hence, Google also announced its AI product called Bard in March 2023. However, it still has a limited capacity as Google is working to further enhance its capabilities.
Key Differences between Google and ChatGPT
Google is a search engine, which redirects users to web pages containing the information they are looking for. On the other hand, ChatGPT is an AI-powered natural language model capable of generating human-like premium quality content and understanding complex prompts.
So, what is the difference between Google and ChatGPT? Refer to the table below to get the answer to this question:
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ChatGPT |
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Google is the world’s biggest search engine handling more than 8.5 billion searches every day. It is owned by Google LLC. |
ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot based on GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 models. It was released by OpenAI in November 2022. |
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Google helps users find their desired information and websites by using relevant keywords and queries. |
ChatGPT accepts both image and text input and understands complex prompts to provide detailed responses in natural language. |
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Google is free to use |
The basic version of ChatGPT is free, while the advanced version GPT-4 is available at $20 per month. |
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Google index has over 1,00,000,000 gigabytes of data. |
GPT-3.5 had 175 billion parameters while GPT-4 has approximately 100 trillion parameters. |
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Users can access results in multiple formats including text, images, videos, and questions & answers. |
ChatGPT offers text-based responses only. It can, however, interpret images and web pages. |
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The information provided by Google is fetched from multiple sources. Hence, the results are relatively more credible with a complete source of information. |
Several questions arise on the credibility of information provided by ChatGPT since it doesn’t provide any sources of information. |
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Google keeps updating its crawlers and databases with time to include up-to-date information. |
The information range provided by ChatGPT is limited to September 2021 only. |
ChatGPT vs. Google: Side-by-Side Comparison
Check out this side-by-side comparison of ChatGPT with Google to learn about their strengths and weaknesses.
1. Internet Search
Suppose you want to write an article titled “Top 5 places for summer mountain hiking in the US.” See below Google’s response to this query:
As you can see, Google suggested several hiking trails from sources across the web and included relevant websites in the search results. We have to visit these sites one by one, compare information, and then write down the shortlisted locations. You need to have ample time to complete this online research.
Now check how ChatGPT responds to this query:
Unlike Google, ChatGPT gave us the names of the top 5 hiking trails in the US as well as providing us with their brief details in minutes. This not only saves users’ time but also facilities in decision-making. Hence, we can safely say ChatGPT encourages quick online research as compared to Google.
2. Understanding Complex Prompts
Sometimes, you have long search prompts with complex keywords and different intentions. Searching these prompts on Google is not feasible because Google can better understand short inputs only with brief information and keywords.
Let’s explore this with an example.
You want to write an email to one of your clients asking queries on a recent web development project. You are confused about whether the client wants static pages or a dynamic website. Moreover, the deadline for this project is also approaching, and you want to request a deadline extension in the same email. Keep in mind that the client is very strict with his deadlines and you need to be extremely careful with the choice of words.
To write an email covering all these points, Google can’t provide the desired results. However, with ChatGPT, you can do this in minutes. You just need to tell ChatGPT clearly who you are and what you want to achieve. The rest can be performed by this fast and powerful AI chatbot.
See the screenshot below to analyze the results provided by ChatGPT to your query.
3. Factuality Check
When it comes to checking the credibility of information, Google wins the race. Why? Because Google has the most advanced algorithm that keeps updating the information every second. You can even search for what’s happening around you today or check the weather forecast for the coming week on Google.
However, ChatGPT has information that dates back to September 2021 only. Any kind of information or updates beyond this cutoff date can’t be searched with ChatGPT.
Here’s an example:
We searched “Who won the FIFA World Cup Qatar?” Here’s the response we got from Google:
And this is correct because the final of the FIFA World Cup Qatar was played between Argentine and France on December 22, 2022. Argentina, with the help of Messi, beat France by 4-2 in a penalty shootout.
However, when we asked the same question from ChatGPT, it failed to provide us with the correct information.
And when we asked about the final scorecard, ChatGPT apologized admitting that it cannot provide information that goes beyond September 2021.
4. AI Assistant
The primary difference between Google and ChatGPT is that the former is run by algorithms while the latter is backed by advanced generative AI technology. This makes ChatGPT much more flexible, efficient, and reliable in terms of AI assistance. You can get instant answers to your queries, seek assistance in terms of planning and strategy, and use the power of generative AI to make informed decisions.
Look at the below example. We asked the same question to both Google and ChatGPT. Compare their responses:
Google’s response is too generic and does not consider the team size. Besides, it gave us a few links to study and write down the strategy after a little bit of research.
Now, check how ChatGPT used AI to understand our query and gave a precise, relevant, and accurate response:
Final Words
Google has been the world leader in the search engine market for decades. Every day, millions of users across the globe perform over 8.5 billion searches on Google. However, for the first time in history, someone has challenged the authority of Google.
The challenger’s name is ChatGPT, an AI-powered natural language generation tool developed by US-based AI research company OpenAI. Since its official release in November 2022, ChatGPT is making headlines with its powerful capabilities and exceptional performance. Besides, it gained more than 1 million users within just one week becoming the fastest-growing tool ever.
Compared to Google, ChatGPT can provide users with well-versed and organized information in minutes. Instead of spending hours researching your desired information, you can enter your queries and get instant results in minutes. Moreover, advanced generative AI technology allows ChatGPT to understand complex prompts and give precise responses to multifaceted queries. This is something Google cannot do as it suggests relevant websites only that contain the keywords used by the visitor.
Having said that, the cutoff date of ChatGPT is September 2021. This means you cannot search for information that goes beyond this period on this tool. Although the updated version GPT-4 is much more powerful than its predecessor GPT-3.5, a lot of work still needs to be done to make ChatGPT the perfect tool for content creation and internet research.