Will generative AI mean the end of internet search and SEO as we know it?
Adobe Stock
Generative AI could change the nature of internet search forever as more and more people choose to access information through tools like ChatGPT. Could internet search (as we know it today) die out altogether? And what does generative AI mean for the search engine optimization (SEO) industry, an industry worth approx. 68 billion dollars per year. Read on to find out.
Generative AI takes the frustration out of searching for information
Let’s face it: the average internet search experience is clunky at best. Say you’re searching for something like “What are the top attractions in Savannah, Georgia?” You will likely be presented with thousands of search results. Then you’ll have to go through the top results and dodge all those cookie notifications that pop up on every website. And then you may have to scroll past paragraphs of SEO content to get the simple answer you were looking for.
Compare that to asking a tool like ChatGPT “What are the top attractions in Savannah, Georgia?” Just type or say your question and get an immediate answer. AI crawls the internet, so you don’t have to! Overall, it’s a much easier and less frustrating experience for users. (Of course, whether the information you get from a generative AI tool is 100% accurate is another matter. But the same can be said for internet search.)
Also, it is rumored that OpenAI launch its own AI-powered search productwhich would raise the game in its competition with the search giant Google.
Clearly, this could fundamentally change, and even threaten, Internet search as we know it. So it makes sense for Internet search companies to quickly integrate generative AI into their search offerings. Microsoft Bing was the first to integrate ChatGPT. Google has also launched a new search experience called Search Generative Experience (SGE), which is designed to help users navigate online information more easily. For example, SGE users can view definitions by hovering over certain words or accessing a list of key points from long web pages.
In other words, internet search companies are trying to improve what they do with generative AI so they can provide a cleaner and less frustrating search experience. But will these efforts be enough, or will tools like ChatGPT gain the competitive edge? It’s too early to say for sure, but one thing is certain: generative AI will absolutely change the way we search for information.
Is the SEO industry under threat?
very possibly Traditional SEO tactics could be rendered obsolete by generative AI. SEO strategies provide ways for organizations to convince search engines to favor their website and present it as high as possible in search results. Banner views and paid ad placements are other strategies to ensure a website achieves a prominent position in search results. But if users are increasingly bypassing search engines and getting their information from a tool like ChatGPT, all those time-consuming SEO efforts and paid placements are pointless.
Companies like Microsoft and Google know this, which is why they’ve been so eager to add generative AI tools to their search functionality to retain users, even though they know it could affect the future revenue of their locations. payment and banner views. Consider it 58 percent of Google’s revenue in 2022 came from Google Ads, and you have a pretty clear idea of how much a company like Google can lose. This means we’ll likely see search providers like Google and Microsoft monetize generative AI answers in the future, just as they once monetized standard search results.
Big players will be fine, in other words. New revenue streams will emerge for these tech giants as they find ways to innovate and monetize generative AI. But for smaller companies offering SEO services, generative AI could pose a fundamental threat to their business model.
Takeaway food for all businesses
SEO is just one example of how businesses can be affected (positively and negatively) by generative AI. I believe this transformative technology will affect or improve almost every business out there. This is why I would advise all business leaders to take a deep look at their business strategy. Examine the potential impact of generative AI on your business operations, your products and services, and perhaps even your underlying business model, and then update your business strategy accordingly.
[ad_2]
Source link