Tiago Bianchi
Research expert covering internet & gaming in Latin America and Spain
AI-powered online search - statistics & facts
These three words best describe the current state of the AI-powered online search industry: transformation, impact, and frenzy. Online search markets are experiencing their most significant shifts in over two decades. The release of ChatGPT had a momentous influence on various aspects of the digital world, with the search engine industry being massively affected. This resulted in frenzied competition among giants like Alphabet and Microsoft, as well as start-up companies and other international challengers. Most importantly, the trend is changing what users expect and how they search online, becoming an irrevocable step forward for online advertising businesses and other digital industries. As the competition heats up, low trust in AI-powered models and the overall impact of these tools on society hinder their broader adoption, creating a risky gamble for companies willing to adopt it.
Microsoft announced multi-billionaire investments in OpenAI and released a new version of Bing, powered and programmed to work like ChatGPT inside its own platform. Google rushed to release its own chatbot and later relaunched it by the name of its LLM Gemini. Despite the troubled start, Gemini and ChatGPT compete directly in terms of usage and reach. Furthermore, the market is currently diversifying, with models like Perplexity and Claude frequently ranking as primary AI search alternatives, while other traditional search companies released their own alternatives. Meanwhile, names like DeepSeek have caused even more havoc in the business sector, suggesting even more novelty and competition.
But as numerous as the challenges are, so are the opportunities. The number of adults in the United States who currently use generative AI as their primary method of online search is already over 15 million and is expected to increase to over 36 million within the next four years. Younger users exhibit a greater propensity to try and use AI-powered models, as changes in global online search behaviors already indicate an inevitable adoption of this search modality.
Within three years of its introduction into the market, AI-powered online search has significantly elevated the standard of the broader search engine industry. While established search firms and newcomers compete to offer the most innovative features, the competition to develop the most advanced AI search tool is more about capturing market share than delivering the most accurate search results. The contest is now unavoidable, and businesses strive to demonstrate the adage that “competition fosters innovation,” albeit with unclear and underdeveloped answers.
What is AI-powered online search?
AI-powered search engines are conversational generative AIs based on large language processing models (LLMs), which combine deep learning techniques, users’ inputs, and growing datasets to provide search results in a dialogue-style output. Despite slightly different ways of presenting their answers, the revolutionary aspect of turning online search into a chat makes it more interactive and dynamic than the classic search engine result experience. While setting a new paradigm for the industry, this novelty might create both opportunities and challenges for search advertising.The main AI-powered search names
OpenAI became the spearhead of the AI-powered search trend with the release of ChatGPT in November 2022. The chatbot gathered a million users in just five days and another 100 million two months after its release, becoming the second fastest-growing consumer application in history and establishing interest in AI trends and applications in general. ChatGPT is now the most popular AI application worldwide, with over 400.61 million monthly active users (MAU).Microsoft announced multi-billionaire investments in OpenAI and released a new version of Bing, powered and programmed to work like ChatGPT inside its own platform. Google rushed to release its own chatbot and later relaunched it by the name of its LLM Gemini. Despite the troubled start, Gemini and ChatGPT compete directly in terms of usage and reach. Furthermore, the market is currently diversifying, with models like Perplexity and Claude frequently ranking as primary AI search alternatives, while other traditional search companies released their own alternatives. Meanwhile, names like DeepSeek have caused even more havoc in the business sector, suggesting even more novelty and competition.
What are the challenges ahead?
While concerns regarding AI-generated online content are part of the risks and challenges of AI adoption, the rush to implement these solutions has already caused damage for online search companies. Errors performed by Google’s initial AI chatbot Bard and its search AI overviews were prime examples of the inaccuracies of AI models. Despite other tools committing similar inaccuracies and hallucinations, this exposed the early stage in which these technologies have been offered and managed, making users reluctant to use them also due to privacy or data security issues.But as numerous as the challenges are, so are the opportunities. The number of adults in the United States who currently use generative AI as their primary method of online search is already over 15 million and is expected to increase to over 36 million within the next four years. Younger users exhibit a greater propensity to try and use AI-powered models, as changes in global online search behaviors already indicate an inevitable adoption of this search modality.
Within three years of its introduction into the market, AI-powered online search has significantly elevated the standard of the broader search engine industry. While established search firms and newcomers compete to offer the most innovative features, the competition to develop the most advanced AI search tool is more about capturing market share than delivering the most accurate search results. The contest is now unavoidable, and businesses strive to demonstrate the adage that “competition fosters innovation,” albeit with unclear and underdeveloped answers.
Tiago Bianchi
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Jun 1, 2025
Tiago Bianchi
Research expert covering internet & gaming in Latin America and Spain
