OpenAI says ChatGPT now handles 20% as many searches as Google
The figure is OpenAI's own: it counts only queries that trigger a web search, and the company didn't say where its Google number came from.
By Marcus Rodriguez ·
Why it matters: OpenAI is pitching ChatGPT as a real rival to Google in search while it is betting on ads, Google's own model, ahead of a possible IPO.
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OpenAI says the volume of search queries run through ChatGPT now equals 20% of the volume run through Google, the search engine owned by Alphabet ($GOOGL). Adam Fry, OpenAI's consumer product lead for ChatGPT, made the claim at a press event on Monday, The Verge reported.
Read the footnote before the headline number. OpenAI counts a search as any query that results in a web search, not tasks like defining a term or a simple how-to explanation. And Fry did not say where the Google figure came from, so the comparison rests on OpenAI's own math.
Why 20% is a big number
For scale, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said during Google's 2023 antitrust trial that Bing had about 3% of the search market after trying for more than a decade. At that same trial, Google described AI as a potential disruptor and argued ChatGPT was poised to compete with it seriously. The Verge noted that OpenAI likely relies on Bing for a significant part of its searches, along with its own index.
The ads angle
Like Google, OpenAI sees ads as a potential path to profitability, The Verge reported, particularly as it approaches an IPO potentially slated for early next year. Fry said the ads haven't produced a lasting backlash.
Ads have not negatively impacted the product or the usage of the product,
Sources
Tags: ai · big-tech