ChatGPT, online search and the future of content
Once upon a time, Google organized the world's information and made it universally accessible and useful. Every piece of online content could be found by summoning the services of this search sorcerer.
Go to Google, tell it what you need and it conveniently takes you there. Based on this one revenue source (i.e., search ads), Google’s parent company (Alphabet Inc.) grew to over one trillion dollars in market capitalization.
One day, along came new characters named OpenAI and ChatGPT ????
Forgotten rivals Microsoft and Bing partnered with these new characters. Some are predicting the end of Google’s reign and the end of online search. We’ll use AI chatbots instead of search engines.
Instead of a page of ten blue links (or more recently an endless scroll of blue links), an AI chatbot provides us with a direct answer.
While a lot of commentary has focused on the tech vendors (e.g., search engines, generative AI chatbots) and the end users, I’ve seen less commentary about the third leg in the stool:
Content creators (i.e., those who create websites and web pages that are accessible [and essential!] to the search engines and chatbots).
Response from content creators
Already more than half of searches on Google are “zero click.” The answer to the query can be found on the search engine results page and the searcher need not click to an external website.
Using ChatGPT is also zero-click because it doesn’t provide any links.
Note: Microsoft’s experimental Bing chatbot does provide references (or footnotes) that link to its sources, though I haven’t tried it yet.
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If the sites publishing online content don’t see visits from search engines or AI chatbots, then they’re less motivated to “play the game.” Using instructions in a file called “robots.txt” I can instruct search engines not to index my site.
I could apply this rule to my entire site or particular sections of it.
Why let Google index my site when it’s less likely to generate a click to it? Similarly, why let ChatGPT get trained with my original and insightful content, only to regurgitate it without attribution, let alone a click?
(Ironic twist: this could be like training a new hire to take over your job ;-)
I foresee a splintering of the web into millions of disconnected islands. Those islands can still hyperlink to one another, but they’d no longer be accessible from a central source like a search engine or AI chatbot.
The publishers of websites will navigate a new world in which their content is not found by search, but instead by “referral.” This “referral” could happen by way of an inbound link or by word of mouth.
Your site will live or die based on its reputation with your audience, not based on its reputation with search engines.
What do you think?
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1 年This is a great
Sr. Content Marketer, Strategist, Writer, Editor | Delivering audience-centric content that engages attention, inspires action, creates value, and delivers business results.
1 年Nailed it, Dennis Shiao ??! Reminds me of Carter Hostelley's recent talk at the Bay Area Content Marketing Meetup where he focused on the *human algorithm* for B2B marketing success https://leadtail.com/b2b-marketing/master-the-human-algorithm-for-b2b-marketing-success/
Director of Content Strategy and Assessment, University of Rochester | Author | International Keynote Speaker | Consultant | Content Marketer | AI Enthusiast | Web3 Educator | Board member HighEdWeb | Ed3 DAO
1 年I think you're spot on Dennis! I'm a firm believer that community is the future of brands, businesses, and creators. Our trust issues and the rise of AI-generated content are going to cause people to discover communities that they trust and rely on and I think search will eventually happen through these community channels as well.
Salesforce Sr. Content Strategist; Content and Digital Marketing Leader; Owner of Rockified Marketing for Freelance Content Marketing Consulting and Writing
1 年Is search really a strong connector? If you're not in the top few positions, most people don't see you anyway. Most people don't just rely on search to drive people to their websites. Paid ads may become more important (and they'll figure out a way for ads to continue even in an AI-infused search). Communities can also continue to gain importance.