ChatGPT is getting popular and Google’s business might be affected.
Issuing Code Red
The future of Google’s search engine is at stake. Thanks to the rising popularity of ChatGPT.
The New York Times reported that Sundar Pichai, Google’s SEO, issued a code red to its AI strategy team to refocus efforts on addressing the threat of the said AI chatbot.
Teams in Google were directed to switch gears to help in the development of AI products. Some employees have been assigned to produce products that can generate art and graphics similar to DALL-E.
Why is ChatGPT a Threat to Google’s Search Business?
ChatGPT has the potential to replace Google’s search engine business, thereby, hurting its ad-revenue business model. It could also prevent users from clicking on links with ads that generated billions of dollars.
This AI-powered chatbot platform enables you to create natural, conversational chatbots for your website, app, or other digital channels.
It uses a combination of natural language processing and predictive analytics to simulate conversations between users and your chatbot.
With ChatGPT, you can create a chatbot that can help automate customer service, provide personalized recommendations, or simply entertain users with engaging conversations.
Can It Really Pose a Threat to Google’s Business?
I asked ChatGPT and here’s its answer:
“‘I’m sorry, but I am not aware of any chatbot or natural language processing technology called “chatgpt” that poses a threat to Google’s search business. It is possible that you may have confused me with another technology or service. As a language model, my primary function is to assist users by generating human-like text based on the prompts and questions that I receive. I am not capable of engaging in business or competing with other companies or technologies.”
Although this technology has the potential to threaten Google’s business, it is still riddled with errors. It can’t fact-check what it says. It also can’t differentiate between misinformation and verified fact. Furthermore, it can make up answers. AI researchers call it “hallucinations.” It can also generate racist and sexist responses.
Although if you ask it if it’s racist, it’ll tell you that it’s a machine learning model so it doesn’t have personal beliefs or biases.
Google hesitates to release its AI chatbot to the public because of its high margin of error. It’s also vulnerable to toxicity. Hence, it’s not reliable. Experts don’t recommend using it on a daily basis.
But users can’t stop asking ChatGPT. They want the chatbot to write up college essays for them. Some users even want to learn coding through it.
Others are also using it as a therapist. Because of how useful it is, millions of people tested it in the first five days since its introduction to the public.
ChatGPT is only one of the many chatbots that will surely challenge Google’s business and how people access information on the Internet. It will definitely affect Google’s reputation as the gateway to information.
What’s interesting is that Google has contributed to the development of this chatbot considering that it’s a partner in the Open AI project.
