Has Google Averted Its AI Crisis?

Has Google Averted Its AI Crisis?

I think Google faced a crisis recently. One of their main selling points, "Googling", came under threat with the rise of AI. Many of us started searching less and asking AI instead (ChatGPT being first to market gave it a significant advantage). After all, who wants to sift through countless sites when you can get a direct answer?

To us, it's convenience. But in the corporate world, it's data. When more people direct their daily questions to their favorite LLM, that platform gains valuable data for targeted marketing and accelerates its improvement through training. It's essentially a WIN-WIN for them.

So has Google averted this crisis? I believe so. What inspired this post was a simple curiosity: I wanted to understand why the discount rate in NPV calculations is higher for riskier projects. Typically, I'd ask ChatGPT. But thanks to "AI Mode" in Google Search, it's now faster to search there.

Let me illustrate the difference:

Google AI Mode: Open browser → Type query → AI summary appears instantly, with sites at the bottom → Click for more details (powered by Gemini)

ChatGPT: Open browser → Navigate to ChatGPT → Wait for site to load → Type query → Get response

The ChatGPT route has more friction, and I'll always choose the lazier option.

OpenAI has introduced Atlas (their browser), I'm guessing as their response to Google's AI Mode. a brilliant move in itself. Bake ChatGPT into a browser since they can't do that with Chrome. But here's the question: Will users leave their preferred browser for Atlas? I doubt it, at least not yet. It's like how people use MS Edge just to download Chrome.

I won't be switching anytime soon, partly due to privacy concerns. Do I want ChatGPT observing while I input card details? Absolutely not. I already use Firefox, having switched from Chrome due to its tab memory usage and privacy concerns, and well, I like the icon of the fox.

Above all, AI Mode is just proof of how a better product will always win, whether or not someone has an advantage. We saw it with Internet Explorer, and we nearly saw it with ChatGPT upending Google Search, but some great strategy has changed that.

How are you searching these days?