Los Angeles | November 28, 2023 – OpenAI’s ChatGPT made waves in the search engine realm, prompting questions about Google’s stronghold. However, a year on, it has yet to significantly chip away at Google’s dominance. For over two decades, Google has reigned supreme in online search, boasting a market share exceeding 90%. What began as one of many players in 1998 catapulted to the top, propelled by its patented PageRank algorithm.
Alphabet, now the overseer, commands both search and the advertising fortune tied to market dominance, reaping a staggering $282 million in 2022 revenue, primarily from ads.
Can AI dismantle Google’s search empire? Not yet. The future remains uncertain as AI-powered search is still nascent, with regulatory battles possibly altering the landscape.
Pre-Google, a slew of engines vied for the throne: AltaVista, Excite, Yahoo!, Lycos, and more—now defunct or absorbed. Bing, born from Microsoft’s acquisition of Yahoo!, stands as Google’s primary contender today.
The linchpin of Google’s ascent was its groundbreaking PageRank algorithm, ranking results by link authority, injecting objectivity into search—a novelty at the time.
Maintaining a 90%+ grip on search, even post-patent expiration in 2018, Google confronts challenges like ads and SEO, potentially denting its supremacy.
AI, including ChatGPT, poses a threat. While Google incorporated AI like RankBrain and BERT to refine results, Microsoft’s investment in ChatGPT aims for unparalleled personalization and precision.
Yet, Google isn’t idling. Bard, their take on generative AI search, is in the works.
Legal battles loom large. Antitrust lawsuits, spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Justice, allege Google’s anticompetitive behavior in digital advertising.
However, the hurdle to prove anticompetitive actions is steep, given Google’s numerous competitors and consumers’ easy switchability among search engines.
Notably, other tech giants like Microsoft, Yahoo!, Baidu, Naver, and Yandex wield substantial influence in different regions, challenging Google’s dominance.
At present, Google commands about 90.3% of the U.S. search market, facing formidable threats from AI advancements and legal skirmishes, albeit with an uncertain timeline for impact.
In essence, Google’s supremacy faces dual challenges: AI evolution and legal scrutiny, both requiring time to possibly weaken its dominance.
