How AI is reshaping the way we find information online

Recently, OpenAI rolled-out a new feature ChatGPT Search, bringing search to their popular AI chat product. Mistral just launched something very similar as well. And although giving search capabilities to Large Language Models is nothing new; service like Perplexity and Bing have been providing these services for a while now. It does show that the trend of AI reshaping how we find information online is accelerating.

1) Less Need to Visit Webpages

Traditionally, searching meant visiting multiple websites to gather information. Now, AI can provide direct answers without the need to click through to the original pages. This shift has significant implications for brands, content creators, and advertisers. It alters the digital relationship between companies and their customers, as users may no longer engage with branded content directly.

2) Combining Multiple Sources

AI can synthesize information from various sources into a single response. For example, you can ask for a summary of recent news about competitors from Techmeme, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and Reuters, and receive a consolidated answer. This capability streamlines information gathering but also raises questions about content ownership and attribution. But maybe most significant of all, these AI models are in the process of "getting to know you" better than Google, for example through ChatGPT's memory function. So, they over time become better in combining and matching all this information with your (private) preferences.

3) Bypassing Traditional Search Engines

With OpenAI's and Claude's Google Chrome extensions, users can bypass traditional search engines entirely. This development challenges the dominance of platforms like Google, which processes over 3.5 billion searches per day. While Google still holds about 92.47% of the global search engine market share, the rise of AI-driven search tools could impact these numbers in the future. 

4) Make online purchases without visiting a website

Conversation AI search Perplextity just launched their move into ecommerce. User can get recommendations on products and buy these straight from the AI conversation, with visiting a single e-commerce website. This is just a first step on how e-commerce is facing a whole new user experience, that is a different route than websites & apps that we’ve gotten so used to in the past two decades.

Implications for Companies

This evolution in search behavior has several implications for businesses:

• Reduced Website Traffic: Direct answers from AI may lead to fewer visits to company websites, affecting metrics and engagement.
• Content Strategy Adjustments: Companies may need to optimize content for AI consumption, ensuring information is structured in a way that AI can easily process and relay. See a nice example of making website content better accessible for LLMs; https://github.com/AnswerDotAI/llms-txt 
• Advertising Challenges: Traditional online advertising models may become less effective as users interact more with AI tools that don't display ads in the same way.

Navigating this change

To adapt to these changes, companies can:

• Optimize for AI: Structure content to be easily accessible and understandable by AI tools.
• Diversify engagement channels: Explore new ways to connect with audiences beyond traditional web pages, such as through AI platforms and voice assistants.
• Monitor AI Developments: Stay informed about advancements in AI to anticipate and respond to shifts in user behavior.

New Developments Making This Shift Even Bigger
The landscape of AI-driven search is evolving fast, with recent developments from OpenAI, Claude, and other key players accelerating the transformation:

• Real-Time Internet Access: OpenAI recently enabled real-time web browsing in ChatGPT, which means users get up-to-date answers without ever needing to visit traditional websites. This browsing capability, combined with enhanced summarization skills, gives users instant, comprehensive answers sourced from multiple platforms in seconds.
• Multimodal Capabilities: With tools like DALL-E and ChatGPT’s ability to process and generate images, voice, and text, users can go beyond basic search queries. They can interact with information in more dynamic ways, like visual summaries of complex data or voice-activated queries for hands-free access, further bypassing traditional search and website browsing.
• Personalized AI Extensions: Both OpenAI and Claude are now supporting a growing ecosystem of plugins and extensions that expand their capabilities. These can connect with specialized databases, handle unique datasets, and integrate with existing productivity tools, making the information not just accessible but highly personalized for each user’s needs.‍
• Improved Contextual Understanding: Advances in natural language processing and context comprehension mean these AI tools are getting better at understanding nuanced queries, following long conversation threads, and delivering highly contextual answers. This makes AI a stronger alternative to traditional search engines, especially for complex questions that typically require extensive research.

These developments are driving a big change in how we find and use information online. For brands, content creators, and businesses, staying ahead means embracing these changes and exploring new, creative ways to connect with audiences. The future of search is here, and it's powered by AI.